


Phoenix Rising

by DrayPotter_TFLS (DrayOakenshield)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Coming Out, First Time, Fluff, M/M, Not Epilogue Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Shower Sex, Well just a handjob, tattoo artist!harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-04-24 11:58:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 38,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14354979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrayOakenshield/pseuds/DrayPotter_TFLS
Summary: At a tattoo auction, Draco makes a bid on something that ends up changing his life for the better.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a quick fluffy one shot... It ran away from me. Chapter two is in the works and will be ready by weeks end (as long as my muse keeps playing nice).

Draco wandered through the tables of items up for auction not really seeing anything that caught his eye but feeling like he should bid on  _ something _ seeing as this was for LGBT wizarding youth. He shuddered at the thought of the headlines if it came to light that he, one of the loudest advocates for gay rights, didn’t bid on anything. Finally, tucked away in a corner, he found something that he knew he had to have. A gift certificate for a five-hour session with the most sought-after tattoo parlour in wizarding Britain, Ládreacht Tattoos. The proprietor kept to himself, no one knew who he was other than those who had managed to get an appointment and they kept silent about the owner's identity, claiming they had signed a magical contract forbidding them to speak. 

Just then there was chiming of a bell, alerting everyone that the bidding was about to begin. Everyone still mingling in the viewing room quickly made their way towards the seats that had been set up in front of the stage for the auction. The next hour was a flurry of bids, obviously this auction was going to pull a lot of funds to help the shelter for youth who didn’t feel safe going home on holidays from school. 

When the certificate for the tattoo came up, the last item on the docket, Draco instantly jumped the bid to a thousand galleons, easily five times the going rate for that much work. Not surprisingly, no one counter bid against him and the auctioneer closed the bid at that price. After the closing speeches, Draco hurried over to collect the certificate from the witch handing out the items.

“Here you go Mister Malfoy; one voucher for five hours of tattoo work at Ládreacht Tattoos. This card here has five appointments to choose from. Please confirm your appointment via the owl post box listed on the card.” The young witch said with a smile as she passed the packet to Draco.

Draco took the packet with a smile and thanked the witch before making his way out of the building. Glancing over the offered dates as he made his way to the apparition point he noticed that the first offered date was barely a week away. After a moment's thought, he decided that everything he had scheduled that day could be rescheduled. With a nod to himself, he twisted on the spot and apparated to his flat to send off the owl confirming his choice along with three ideas for his tattoo as instructed by the sheaf of papers.

When the following Friday rolled around Draco was surprised to find himself feeling slightly nervous about the experience. He had wanted a tattoo for a while, one he chose not one that was forced on him, but as he was getting dressed in a pair of muggle jeans and a tee-shirt he could feel the butterflies kicking up in his stomach. Shaking his head he decided to ignore them, brushing it off as nerves because he still didn’t know who the mysterious artist was or what his tattoo would be. Taking one more steadying breath Draco shook himself out of his thoughts and stepped into the fireplace to floo to the address provided when he confirmed his appointment. 

"Hello, Draco." A voice called from the back of the shop. "Before I come out and introduce myself properly please sign the contract on the counter indicating that you agree to not reveal my identity."

The voice sounded slightly familiar but Draco couldn't quite place it, not that that changed his decision to get the tattoo. He had come here expecting something along these lines, and after he quickly glanced over the contract and made not of the (painful) terms outlined for what would happen if he revealed the artist identity. Shrugging figuring there was no turning back now Draco quickly signed the line at the bottom and sealed it with a touch of his wand.  
  
"Thank you for being understanding about that, I've had people refuse to sign before I came out to greet them." The voice said as a hand and tattooed wrist appeared and pushed the curtain separating the entry from the rest of the shop aside.  
  
"Potter?!" Draco said when the rest of the body attached to the hand came into view.  
  
Harry grinned, he always found the reactions to him being the artist amusing. "Just Harry please, we got past Potter nearly five years ago now."  
  
After taking a moment to compose himself Draco returned the smile. They had settled their differences six years ago when they had gotten drunk together at one of the many post-war banquets they had been expected to attend. "Well, this is a surprise, though not an unpleasant one. I thought you left England after the fifth anniversary of the end of the war?"  
  
"Technically I did leave England, we are in Scotland now." Harry grinned as he beckoned for Draco to follow him into the back of the shop. "Sorry for not telling you the truth, after the fifth year anniversary I realized I just needed to disappear for a while and it was easiest to do that if everyone thought I was gone."  
  
Draco followed Harry back to the chair that was set up for him with a tray of inks and a tattoo machine next to it. "So do Hermione and Ron know you are here?"  
  
"No, they think I'm somewhere in the states right now. They are part of why I needed to go, I was so sick of being in the middle of their relationship. Every single time either of them got upset they both came running to me to complain and I couldn't deal with it, especially considering Ginny dumped me three years after the war. So I packed my things and told them I would be out of touch for a while. After the first six months I sent them an owl with a journal they could write to me in and I could write back. You are the only person I've actually sent owls to." Harry rambled as he fiddled with the drawings he had done for Draco's tattoo.  
  
Tugging off his shirt Draco walked over to the bench and stood next to it. "I completely understand that. I think most of our year is surprised those two are still together with as frequently as they fight. But enough about them, how do you want me for this?"  
  
Harry smiled thankfully at the easy way Draco pulled the conversation away from uncomfortable topics. "Well, first I need you to approve this design." He said, holding out a sheet of paper to Draco. He had sketched out a phoenix taking flight but instead of the typical red and orange colors he had done it in a stunning full rainbow.  
  
Taking it Draco examined the drawing trying not to gasp in surprise. "Wow, when I said I wanted a phoenix I didn't think it would be this amazing. But I don't think you can do this in five hours Harry, even with magic."  
  
"I know. But I knew this was for you and I wanted it to be something special, I will have you in for as many sessions as we need to get this finished." Harry said with a shrug. "I know how much this means to you and I want it to be perfect. So, does a full back piece work for you? I know you had said a shoulder or maybe a sleeve but with this much detail I think bigger would be better."  
  
Draco grinned and turned his back to Harry by way of agreement. "I think we better get started."  
  
Nodding Harry grabbed the contact paper and started positioning the drawing across Draco's back. Once he had it laid out how he wanted he pushed Draco towards the mirrors set up in the corner. "If that works for you go sit down while I wash my hands and we will get started."  
  
Standing in front of the mirror Draco took his time looking over the tattoo, marveling at how the phoenix was laid out so the head rested right at the base of his neck with the wings spread spanning from shoulder to shoulder and the tail feathers trailing down to rest just above the waist of his pants. Deciding he loved the layout Draco moved over to sit down with his stomach against the back of the chair and wait for Harry to return. It was bigger than he had planned for but he loved the way Harry had executed the design and he wouldn't change anything.  
  
"I'm glad you like it, I had a lot of fun drawing it." Harry said upon turning around and seeing Draco sitting waiting for him. After drying his hands with a towel he tugged on a pair of gloves and plugged in his machine. "Do you want the numbing agent or no?"  
  
"No numbing, I want to feel it." Draco said, sounding more confident than he felt. He had spent eight years hiding from the pain, it was time he finally let himself feel it.   
  
Harry smirked but didn't reply as he turned the machine on. "Let me know if you change your mind. I'm going to try and get through the whole outline today."  
  
Pillowing his arms under his chin Draco nodded at Harry for him to get started. The first few pricks were surprisingly sharp but it quickly settled into an almost calming sensation. "So when did you figure out you could draw?"  
  
"I stayed in the muggle sections of San Francisco in California for the first couple years after I left. I learned to draw and then tattoo there. About a year and a half ago the master I was studying under died from a muggle disease and I came back here because I realized I couldn't actually run away from death."  
  
"I understand that feeling. I thought about running away a few times myself." Draco mumbled, trying not to move too much. "That's why I started advocating for gay youth. I needed to do something, to be something more than an ex death eater."  
  
Harry didn't say anything for a few moments as he concentrated on his work. "Is it hard? Being openly gay in the wizarding world?" He finally asked quietly.  
  
"Compared to everything else that comes with my name being gay is easy." Draco joked, intentionally ignoring the loaded tone behind the question.  
  
"Yeah..." Harry started then trailed off.  
  
"It's still scary some days, feeling like you have just another thing that makes you different. But at the end of the day, this doesn't define me. I'm still the Draco that strutted around the halls of Hogwarts as if I owned it. I just don't hide who I love." Draco rambled, suddenly feeling like Harry needed the reassurance that it was okay, whatever he was holding back wouldn't make Draco judge him.  
  
Pausing to wipe away the excess ink and check his progress Harry sat back for a second. "Draco I think I might be gay."  
  
Draco sucked in a breath, he didn't know what he had been expecting Harry to say next but he was sure it hadn't been that. "Can I turn around?"  
  
Harry nodded, not thinking about the fact that Draco probably couldn't see him. "Yeah, I need a break anyway."   
  
Kicking his legs over the bench Draco turned to face Harry. Without giving the other man a chance to move away Draco leaned forward and pulled Harry into a hug. "It's okay, you aren't alone." He murmured softly, knowing how terrifying saying those words for the first time felt.  
  
Harry clung to the other man, happy that of all the people he had said those words to for the first time it was the one person who would probably understand better than any other. Finally, he pulled back and smiled at Draco, "thank you. For understanding and not running away."  
  
"Well, it would be a bit hypocritical of me to run away all things considered," Draco said with a wry smile. "Now, why don't I call Winky to bring us some lunch and we can take a break for a bit before you finish torturing my back?"  
  
Rubbing a hand across his face to wipe away the tears Harry nodded. "That sounds good. You know usually it's my clients who end up crying, not me."  
  
"Maybe you just didn't have the right person with you before." Draco smirked before pushing Harry towards the bathroom he could see in the corner. "Go clean up, I'll have Winky bring over some lunch for us okay?"  
  
Chuckling slightly Harry did as he was told, feeling like a giant weight he didn't even know he had been carrying had been lifted off of his shoulders. When he walked back out with all signs of tears wiped away Draco was sitting on the couch in the corner with two heaping plates of baked mac and cheese on the coffee table in front of him. Walking over he flopped on the couch and grabbed one of the glasses and held it up in toast before taking a swig of what turned out to be pumpkin juice. Neither of them said anything further as they tucked into their lunch.   
  
After their plates were cleared away they moved back over to the bench and Draco sat back down to let Harry get back to work. For the remaining three hours they didn't talk about what Harry had revealed, just shared gossip about their classmates or what it had been like living in the states for two years. They only took one break to rearrange the bench from sitting to lying down so Harry could do the outline of the bottom half of the tattoo.  Finally, Harry wiped his back one more time and declared the outline was done and so were they for the day.  
  
Rolling off the table and standing up Draco stretched, wincing as the slightly tender skin moved. "So when do we want to start the shading?"  
  
"Let's give that a week to heal. I've got no one scheduled next Friday if you want to come in then?"  
  
Draco grinned and nodded. "It's a date, Harry."

After they had finalized everything and made sure of a time that worked for both of them they said their goodbyes and Draco flooed back home. Harry cleaned up his work area before flicking off the lights to go upstairs to have a cuppa and think over everything that had happened today.

At nine on the nose the following Friday Draco was stepped out of the fireplace in Ládreacht Tattoo's entry and dusted the soot from his clothes. "Harry? Are you ready?"

"Nearly set up, come on back Draco!" Harry called from behind the curtain. "So I want to start with the body because it's dark blue then the wings are going to progress through the rainbow starting with purple then going to red then orange then yellow at the tip of the wings. The tail will be more blues and green. Is that okay?"

Draco smirked as he pulled off his shirt and tossed it on the couch in the corner. "Well since I won't really be able to see it I'm going to have to trust your judgment and say yes." 

"Draco, dear, did you forget we are wizards? Once I finish putting the ink into your skin I'm going to enchant the tattoo so it will move around your body. I can do other more practical enchantments as well but at the very least I will do that one." Harry said with a laugh as Draco arranged himself out on the bench once again.

As he settled on the bench he couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, I guess you have a point there. But even so, I think what you have planned sounds brilliant and I can't wait to see the finished product."

Harry flicked his machine to life "Well I don't think we will quite get the entire thing done today but we should be able to get close. I got a lot of the detail lined out last week so it's mostly shading today which takes forever. I'm thinking that even if we do eight hours today we will only get the head, body and most of the tail done. So we will likely need another eight hours week to color the other wing and the tail feathers and touch everything up."

"Already making plans to see me again? I'm starting to think this is about more than just tormenting my back." Draco teased lightly, the hum of the machine almost relaxing as Harry leaned over him again. "I'm starting to think you just want to keep me around."

Laughing Harry started shading the body of the phoenix. "What can I say, it's nice having someone around who knows me. I don't quite feel like I'm hiding as much anymore."

"Is that because someone knows you're back in the area or is it because of what we talked about last week?" Draco asked, wincing a bit as Harry started working right over his spine.

"Bit of both really. It's nice not feeling completely alone but at the same time I don't know if I'm ready to tell the world that I'm back in the UK." 

"Well, if you want, why don't you come over to my place for dinner one night this week. I moved to Hogsmeade a couple years ago so it's not London proper. No one ever comes by my place so you wouldn't have to worry about anyone seeing you either. "

Harry dipped the needle into the ink, stalling while he thought over the offer. "Is this a pity date Draco?"

"A date, yes. If you want it to be. But pity has nothing to do with it. You need out of this building, I'm guessing your flat is up the stairs hidden in the corner so you never leave here." Draco said, aiming for nonchalant but feeling like he missed it by a kilometer.

At that moment Harry was glad Draco couldn't see the grin plastered across his face. He had been struggling to accept he was gay for close to three years, that was why he had gone to San Francisco in the first place. For Draco to accept it and treat him like nothing had changed meant the world to Harry. When he finally felt like his voice wouldn't give away how excited he was he spoke up, "a date it is then."

"Brilliant. I can't wait to cook for you." Draco grunted as Harry's needle passed over another tender spot.

"You cook?" Harry asked surprised, switching off the single needle machine he was using to add details and grabbing the larger shading one.

"Quite well actually. I only hired Winky away from Hogwarts spring before last because Minerva was worried that she still wasn't flourishing in the castle. Before that, I was on my own, first at the Manor and then my flat. So I learned to do nearly everything without magic and a lot of things I still prefer to do that way."

"I know I said it at that party we got drunk at six years ago but you really have changed Draco. I'm proud of you."

"Am I allowed to say I'm proud of you too? I mean look at all you've done for yourself, and none of it is tied to the  _ boy who lived _ ." Draco sneered the last words, know how much Harry had come to despise that title.

Harry laughed but didn't say anything as he focused on getting just the right shade of blue into the body of the phoenix. The next three hours until their lunch break were spent in companionable silence, Draco so relaxed under Harry's tattoo machine he was nearly asleep.

Finally, Harry set down the machine and sat back to look over the work he had gotten done. "Blue was definitely the right choice, it looks brilliant against your skin. I can't wait to get the red in the wings done." 

"I'm glad you like your work, that's reassuring for me." Draco teased as Harry wiped his back down and cast the normal healing charm on the fresh ink. "So I had Winky make pasta for lunch but if that's not okay I'm sure she can whip something else up."

"You know you don't have to feed me because I'm doing your tattoo." 

"I only paid a thousand galleons for this, the least I can do is feed you. Though I do wish you would let me pay more for your time." Draco said as he leaned back and snapped his fingers for Winky to bring their lunch and set it up. As the house-elf set out their food Draco walked over and flopped on the couch, giving Winky a grateful smile when she bowed to him.  “I know most of what I paid at the auction went straight to the charity, you have to be losing business by dedicating so much time to this piece.”

Harry thanked Winky after she set their lunch out on the table like she had the week before. When she disappeared he sat down across from Draco on the couch. “You treat her well, I can tell.” He said as a way of avoiding the topic of Draco paying him more.

“I didn’t want to take anymore house-elves in. I gave clothes to the ones we used to own that wanted them and found good families for the ones that didn’t want to be free. But Minerva reached out to me and told me she was worried about Winky, that even after close to ten years at Hogwarts she was still missing her family. So I took her in and gave her a family again. I don’t pay her but I make sure she has time off to do what she wants every month.” Draco explained with a shrug.

"I'm glad she's with you now. I was worried about her and if I hadn't left when I did I was going to offer to take her in." 

Draco smirked as he grabbed his plate. "Well now that we've made sure Winky is taken care of why won't you let me pay you?" 

"Because I don't need the money." Harry shrugged as he took his own plate. "Most everything I make here goes to the charity, I only keep enough to pay for the equipment I use. After the war I was given quote a bit of money as reparations on top of what I already had from my parents. I could live comfortably for several lifetimes without making a dent in that much money."

"That makes sense. I'm basically in the same boat with the Malfoy vaults. I could have funded the new house totally on my own and not even blinked but I didn't want it to look like I was trying to buy my way back into the upper echelons of society again so I bid high on the certificate for my tattoo hoping someone would get in a bidding war with me but no one did."

"Well, why don't we put a joint donation in the name of Ládreacht Tattoos? I'll match whatever you feel like you should have paid and what you already paid combined?" Harry offered, spearing a piece of grilled chicken and popping it into his mouth.

Draco swallowed his pasta and washed it down with pumpkin juice before he nodded his agreement. "I'll put another five hundred galleons in then. From what you've said this sounds like it's going to be at least a twenty-three hour process and that is easily worth fifteen hundred galleons. Especially with the detail, you're putting in."

"So two thousand galleons in the name of Ládreacht Tattoo's for the New Hope Charity." Harry agreed, raising his glass in toast.

Smiling and raising his own glass Draco toasted back. The rest of their lunch passed in silence as the pair tucked into their food in earnest. Once Winky had reappeared and taken the empty plates back to Draco's he went and sat back down when Harry went to wash his hands.

"Do you mind if I turn the wireless on?" Harry asked when he reappeared, toweling his hands off. 

"If you do I may actually fall asleep on you this time." Draco joked as he pillowed his arms under his chin again.

Harry laughed as he wandlessly flicked on the stereo in the corner. "That might be for the best. I want to do the tail feathers now and those are on your lower back which is going to hurt worse than anything." 

Draco groaned exaggeratedly as Harry set himself up behind him again. "If it was anyone else I would say they were out to kill me with as much as you’re torturing my poor back."

Chuckling Harry looked him over for a moment before he waved his hand to change the bench Draco was sitting on into the fully reclined bed they had used the day before. "I need you laying down, easier on the back that way, for both of us."

If he was asked later Draco would deny that he had squeaked like he did when he suddenly went from sitting leaning against the back of the chair to laying sprawled on his stomach. "A little warning next time?" 

Harry didn't even pretend to be sorry as he doubled over laughing. "Sorry but I figured your reaction would be priceless and I was right. I want to use the last four hours today to fill in the tail feathers so the next session we can hopefully get both wings completely done."

Shooting a pretend glare at Harry over his shoulder Draco re-positioned himself so he was laying comfortably. "Just for that, you owe me a second date." 

"Hmm, so the more I torture you the more dates I get?" Harry pretended to think about for a second before smirking at. "Well, as long as our first date goes well I'll have to keep that in mind."

"You're horrible." Draco laughed as the machine kicked on once again.

"You enjoy it." Harry countered as he bent over Draco's back and set to work on putting the color into the delicate tail feathers. 

“I enjoy spending time with you, the pain I could live without.” Draco hissed as the needle started driving into his skin again. “And before you ask again, no I don’t want a numbing potion.” 

Harry rolled his eyes behind Draco but didn’t say anything as he continued placing the thin lines of green in to bring the phoenix to life. As the hours blended together so did the colors Harry was driving into Draco’s skin, the only sounds in the room the hum of the tattoo machine and the notes coming from the wireless Harry had turned on. 

After he finished filling in the tail in Harry wiped down the tattoo and cast the healing charm to help seal the ink into the skin before reaching out and shaking Draco awake. “Draco, I’m done for today. Why don’t you to take a look?”

Draco blinked the sleep from his eyes before sitting up. “Sorry, didn’t mean to fall asleep on you. I didn’t think having a needle driving into my back would be so soothing,” he said with a laugh as he sat up and stretched the kinks from his nap out.

“It’s perfectly alright, if it bothered me I would have woken you up.” Harry reassured him as he started cleaning up the area. “I got the whole body from beak to tail shaded in so the only thing we have left is the wings. I think I can do them both in eight hours but we will have to see next Friday.”

“Oh, so you’ve already booked me in for next Friday have you?” Draco teased as he walked over to the mirror to see the progress for the day. “Good thing I made sure my Friday’s for the next three weeks are cleared.”

Harry walked over next to Draco to look at the reflection with him. “I don’t think we need three more sessions, at most we will need two more.”

It took a minute for Draco to respond because he was struck speechless at the artwork Harry had done on his back. He had looked at the outline but seeing it with the color spread across his skin was something entirely different. Finally, he found his voice again, “wow Harry. You truly are an astounding artist.” 

“Glad you think so.” Harry laughed, still not used to the way people reacted to his work despite having been in business for over a year now. “I’m glad you appreciate it. I really think this might be my favorite piece I’ve done so far.”

“Of course I do, it’s more me than anything I could have dreamed of on my own.”

“Well, I hope you still feel that way once I finish and turn it into a full rainbow with the wings.” 

“I’m fabulous, of course I’ll rock the rainbow.” Draco smirked as he walked over to get his shirt and tug it on. “So I know I’ll see you next Friday for our next session but what night would work for you for dinner?”

Harry thought for a moment before grinning at Draco. “Well, I suppose tonight would be too soon so how about Monday. Does that seem a bit less overeager?”

After he had his shirt on again and had smoothed his hair back into place Draco smiled at Harry. “I like that you are eager to see me again. I can’t wait to see you Monday night either.” He murmured, taking the smaller mans hand and kissing the top of it softly. 

“You’re going to make me blush if you keep acting like that.” Harry tried to joke but sounded far too serious. “I feel like you actually want me for me and not because I’m the saviour of the wizarding world.”

Draco blinked at Harry, looking almost confused. “Harry, I do want you for you. Anyone who doesn’t is out of their mind. Yes, you may have saved the wizarding world but you are so much more than that. You’re a great and loyal friend, you have a wicked mind, and not least of all you are a brilliant artist. If someone can’t see past something you did eight years ago then they don’t deserve to get to know you any more than that.” 

“Can I kiss you?” Harry blurted out, surprising himself with the question nearly as much as he surprised Draco. But even after thinking about it for a second he didn't change his mind and retract the question.

Stepping forward Draco closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist, pulling them flush against each other. As Harry melted against Draco the taller man leaned down and captured his lips in a tender kiss. Draco kept the kiss brief, pulling back after only a few seconds.

“Wow.” Harry breathed, eyes still closed as he waited for the room to right itself.

Draco smiled and rested his forehead against Harry’s reluctant to release him. “You could say that again. I always thought the people saying they saw sparks when they kissed someone were exaggerating.”

“So it wasn’t that amazing because it was the first time I kissed a guy? Good, I was hoping it had something to do with the fact that it's  you kissing me.” Harry murmured, not pulling away from Draco’s embrace. “Now I really don’t want to wait until Monday to see you again.”

“I don’t want to wait either.” Draco agreed, tightening his arms slightly to emphasize how much he didn’t want to go. “Why don’t you come over tomorrow around lunch? I’ve got a telly in my flat so we can watch a muggle movie and just spend time together.”

Harry finally pulled back far enough to look at Draco and smile. “Tomorrow is much more agreeable than Monday as long as we still get Monday too.”

“Harry, if you keep looking at me like that you won’t leave my flat until your next client meeting.” Draco laughed, only half joking.

“Let's see how lunch goes tomorrow and then we can decide on that.” Harry bargained before stretching up and kissing Draco softly. “I think I’m getting used to the idea that I can kiss you whenever I want, and I quite like that.”

Draco smiled and pressed one more kiss to Harry's lips before stepping back slightly, not releasing Harry from his arms but putting space between their bodies. “If I had my way Harry you would never kiss anyone but me again. Now, I'm going to let go of you and step through that fireplace to go home and take a very cold shower. After my shower, I'm going to obsessively clean my already spotless flat, probably offending Winky in the process, and count the minutes until you come over tomorrow.”

“You won't be counting alone,” Harry promised, stealing one more kiss before stepping back far enough to break Draco’s hold on him. “I will see you at eleven thirty tomorrow.”

“Perfect. Until then, Harry.” Draco promised as he stepped up to the fireplace and took a handful of floo powder to throw into the waiting flames for them to whisk him away. 

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys have their first "date" and learn a bit more about each other.

Draco was resisting the urge to blow out the candle for the third time when the fireplace flared to life and spit out Harry. The time since they had parted had passed much like he thought it would, except Winky had seemed amused by his cleaning instead of being offended and he was surprisingly happy to see the other man.

‘You know after sixteen years in the wizarding world you would think I would have gotten the hang of that.” Harry joked as he picked himself up off the floor and dusted the soot from his clothes.

“I don’t know, your lack of grace is one of the things I find adorable about you.” Draco teased as he pulled Harry into his arms. “Hullo Harry.”

Harry leaned against the other man and wrapped his arms around Draco’s waist sighing contentedly. “Hullo Dray, it feels like it’s been longer than just a handful of hours since I’ve seen you last.”

“Dray?” Draco asked as Harry snuggled against him.

Harry buried his face in Draco’s chest so the other man wouldn't see him blush. “Erm yeah. My aunt always called my cousin all these nicknames that were supposed to be sweet, though in hindsight I don't think ickle-Diddykins was really that sweet, and I always wanted to be able to show someone that same kind of affection.”

“Well I like Dray, I like having a nickname that you gave me.” Draco reassured before leaning down and kissing Harry softly.

Harry's eyes fluttered closed as Draco pressed their lips together, fireworks still bursting in his chest at the contact. This time when Draco started to pull away Harry followed him, deepening the kiss further than they had before. When Draco gasped in surprise Harry pressed his advantage and slid his tongue past the other man's lips, tasting him for the first time. This may be the first time he's been with another man but kissing was the same no matter who he was with.

Moaning softly Draco reached up and tangled his fingers in Harry's messy locks, holding him tight as they took turns exploring each other's mouths. When the finally parted for air Draco loosened his grip in Harry's hair but didn't actually let him go. As they rested against each other Draco smiled softly, "mon coeur, that was amazing."

"I don't know what that means but I'm going to assume it was something sweet." Harry joked, feeling like the room was still spinning around them but simultaneously feeling like the world as a whole had stopped moving beyond their bubble.

"It means my heart, which I'm starting to think you have stolen" Draco teased lightly as he stepped back. "So now that we've properly greeted each other would you like to start the movie or start lunch first?"

Harry picked up the small bag he had dropped when he stumbled out of the fireplace with a smile. "I brought the stuff to cook lunch for us actually. If that's alright that is. I should have asked first shouldn't I?"

Grinning Draco kissed Harry's nose before taking his hand and leading him into the kitchen. "It's Winky's day off so I was going to cook for us anyway, what are we making?"

"Well, before I left, Remus gave me a box of things he had salvaged from my parents home; in the box was a cookbook my mother had written her and my dad's favorite recipes in. I've got that recipe in here along with all the ingredients for a shepherds pie, Remus told me that was her favorite because it reminded her of growing up in Ireland. And I just realized I'm rambling and you should shut me up now." Harry rattled off, giving far more information than was necessary.

Draco couldn't help but laugh as Harry snapped his mouth shut and stood there looking sheepish. "Ramble away, I find it adorable. We've somehow never really talked about who we are beyond the war and I like learning about all of you."

Blushing slightly Harry stretched up and kissed Draco softly before turning to the bag and starting to pull items out and set them on the counter. "I made the crust last night to let it rest properly but we need to do everything else, including mash the potatoes. And Dray?"

"Hmm?" Draco asked, already putting water on the stove to boil the potatoes.

"I like that we are learning about each other too." Harry said softly as he set to work peeling and chopping the potatoes.

Draco smiled fondly as he reached around Harry and grabbed the carrots to dice them. "I've wanted this for a long time you know."

"Shepherd's pie?" Harry asked, sounding slightly confused.

"No you prat, a relationship with you." Draco laughed, dropping the carrots into the skillet he had pulled out and grabbing the onion to chop it up.

Harry blushed as he tipped the potatoes into the pot. "I thought about you quite a lot while I was living in San Francisco. I wondered what you would say about me being gay and if I would ever have a chance with you."

"I wish you would have told me that you were back sooner. I almost feel like we wasted the last year and a half daydreaming about what could have been." Draco murmured as he dumped the onion into the skillet with everything else. Stepping up behind Harry he carefully wrapped his arms around the smaller man so he wouldn't hurt himself while he was stripping the corn from the cob. "But no matter what, I'm happy we are both here now."

Harry set aside the cutting board full of corn and started quickly mincing the garlic. "I'm happy we are here too. It never felt this right with Ginny."

Draco hummed his agreement as his eyes skimmed over the recipe Harry had set to hover in front of him. Once he was sure of the next steps he kissed the back of Harry's head and turned to the stove to start sauteing the vegetables. "Only Ginny?"

"She's the only other person I've ever actually dated." Harry admitted sheepishly. "After the war I tried dating again but most people seemed to only want to be with me so they could say they fucked the boy who lived. Once that happened a few times I just gave up on dating, deciding I wasn't ready for it anyway."

Grumbling slightly at the idea that people were using Harry for their own self-gain Draco held out his hand for the garlic Harry had prepped to add it to the pan. "I can't stand people like that. Fame isn't everything, you are so much more than that."

"I know that Dray, that's why I quit dating before I went to the States. And now I don't think I will ever have to worry about that again." Harry reassured as he plopped the ground lamb into the skillet Draco was stirring. "Are you good on making the rest of the filling? I'm going to start on the potatoes if you are."

Draco snorted and kissed Harry's cheek. "I'm a potions master, I think I can handle a simple filling for shepherd's pie."

Harry elbowed his partner's side smiling slightly as he grabbed the potatoes from the hob and carried them over to the sink to drain them. "There's the ego I remember so fondly from our Hogwarts days."

"Of course the ego you remember is still here, it never went away. Some prat with glasses just popped it a few years ago and it shrunk a bit." Draco teased playfully as he slowly added the flour to the mixture and coated the meat with it before pouring the tomato paste and chicken broth into the pan.

Harry set himself up on the counter next to Draco with a grin, pouring the half and half and butter into the potatoes and starting to mash them. "Remind me to thank whoever did that next time we see them."

Snorting Draco carefully stirred the mix in his skillet but didn't reply. Once he was sure everything was mixed evenly he reduced the heat and covered the pan to let it simmer while Harry finished the potatoes. "All you need to do is look into a mirror, mon coeur. You not seeming interested in my drunken flirting at the third-anniversary gala wounded me deeply."

"That was flirting?!" Harry laughed, "I thought you were just too pissed to keep yourself upright anymore."

Draco stuck his tongue out playfully as he reached past Harry to swipe up a finger full of mashed potatoes. "You're horrible, you know that right?" He asked as he popped the finger into his mouth and sucked the potatoes off. "Also, those need more salt."

Summoning the salt Harry dropped another pinch in before giving them another good stir. "I kind of have to be to keep up with you and your snark."

"Prat." Draco teased affectionately as he fished a casserole dish out of the cabinet and started rolling the puff pastry out to size. "You know, typically shepherd's pie doesn't have a pastry crust."

"I know but this was how my mum made it and it's actually really good. The pastry absorbs the extra gravy so you don't miss any of it."

Draco laid the pastry in the dish then pulled the skillet off the heat and gave it another good stir before slowly pouring it over the pastry. "I'll let you know what I think once this is done baking. Are you ready with those potatoes?"

Passing over the potatoes with a laugh Harry turned to wash his hands in the sink. "I thought it was weird the first time I tried it too but I ended up liking it quite a lot and now traditional shepherd's pie almost tastes strange."

Draco took the potatoes and started spooning them into the dish, concentrating on spreading them from the outside edge inwards. Once he had everything to his liking he carefully slid the dish into the oven before pulling Harry into his arms. "So ready for a movie? I picked up one called 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' that one of the muggle-born healers said was really good."

"I'm up for anything chocolate related." Harry agreed as he curled into Draco.

"Let’s take this snuggle to the couch then while that bakes. I've pulled every fluffy blanket into a pile and Winky insisted on popping out to get all kinds of sweets from Honeydukes for us when she found out you were coming over. I think she was hoping you would stay for more than one movie, and admittedly so am I."

"I was hoping to stay all afternoon." Harry admitted grinning. "But I didn't want to impose and invite myself over longer than I was welcome."

Draco rolled his eyes as he tugged Harry over to the couch and pushed him down onto it. "You are never imposing, I meant what I said last night about you being welcome to stay all weekend."

"You don't feel like this is all moving a bit fast?" Harry asked nervously as he arranged himself in the pile of blankets on the enlarged couch, making sure to leave plenty of room for Draco to snuggle in next to him.

"It is going kind of fast, I'll give you that," Draco conceded. "But I also feel like we have been dancing around this for most of the last decade and if you hadn't left the country when you did then this likely would have happened much sooner. So in that light, we are just making up for lost time."

Harry thought about it for a moment while Draco finished setting up the movie. When Draco lifted up the blankets and settled between Harry's legs with his back against Harry's chest Harry hugged him tightly. "I like that line of reasoning. It makes me feel less like I'm being overly needy."

Draco squeezed Harry’s hand reassuringly. “Be as needy as you want mon coeur, you're not scaring me off now.”

Resting his chin on Draco's shoulder Harry started speaking softly. "Dray I don't have a good baseline of what’s normal in relationships. When I was seeing a therapist in San Francisco they made me realize that I was abused by the Dursley's, I knew they had treated me like shite compared to Dudley but I hadn't realized it actually crossed the line into abuse. I don't think I wanted to realize it was abuse, to be honest. And we can't forget how wonderfully Dumbledore treated me, like a was just a pawn in his game. Then once I was finally free of all of that I started dating Ginny who really only wanted me for my fame, did you know she used all the passive-aggressive and manipulative cards in the book to try and force me to take her into the public eye?"

Draco shifted so he could look Harry in the face before replying. "One, I knew the Weaslette was an attention seeker, how could she not be being the youngest of seven. Two Dumbledore was like that with everyone, to the point that he had no friends by the end of his life, just pieces in a game only he was playing. And finally, I don't know what the Dursley's did but that is in the past now. All of them made you into the man I'm quickly falling in love with and while I would love to change all of that I wouldn't want to lose the person that hell created."

"I hope you don't change your mind. I know my past can be a lot to deal with." Harry said with a wry grin.

"I've told you, I'm not going anywhere Harry. You're pretty much stuck with me now that you've let me in." Draco promised before stretching up to kiss Harry.

Returning the kiss with a smile Harry hugged Draco as best he could with their awkward position on the couch. "Start the -" he started to say before he was cut off by a beeping from the kitchen.

"Why don't I go pull our lunch out of the oven and get us a couple plates while you skip through all the previews?" Draco offered as a compromise, holding the remote out to Harry.

"Sounds like a plan." Harry agreed, taking the remote before stealing one more kiss before Draco started to haul himself off the couch.

A few minutes later Draco carrying two mugs of butterbeer and levitating two heaping plates of shepherds pie in front of him right as Harry hit pause on the opening scene. "Alright, I will admit it. The pastry crust under the pie tastes amazing."

Harry laughed as he caught the plates and set them on the table Draco had tugged in front of the couch. "I told you, the gravy-soaked pastry is nearly better than treacle tart."

"I don't know if I would say something that blasphemous but it is quite delicious." Draco laughed as he sat next to Harry and held one of the mugs out for him. "Ready to start the movie?"

Draco nodded, a forkful of pie already halfway to his mouth.

Smiling at his partner Harry hit the button to start the movie before digging into his own lunch.

Two hours and most of the candy stash later the pair were so tangled together on the couch that you couldn't easily tell where one began and the other ended happily arguing about the movie.

"Wonka was so a wizard! How else could he have made everlasting gobstoppers?!" Draco exclaimed indignantly.

Harry hid his face in Draco's chest so he wouldn't laugh in the other boys face. "Fine love, Wonka was a wizard. But I don't think he had a small army of house-elves working for him. I think we just kept seeing the same ones repeatedly."

Draco pretended to glare at Harry for a moment before laughing and kissing his nose. "Fine that's fair. Seeing as we were so distracted we are just going to have to watch it again and we can settle the argument then."

"Hmm, we can arrange that." Harry agreed with a smirk before stretching up to kiss Draco. One kiss lead to another and within moments they were passionately snogging on the couch.

Just as Harry rolled on top of Draco and started to slide the other man's shirt off the floo flared to life and Hermione stepped out gracefully, already speaking before she had even entered the room. "Draco! We need you at St Mungo! Someone ingested an experimental potio- HARRY?!"

Harry yelped and toppled off Draco onto the floor, thankful they hadn’t started undressing each other. “Fucking hell. Hi Hermione.” Harry swore as he looked up at the witch he had been friends with for sixteen years.

“Before the fight starts, don’t try and say there won’t be a fight I can see it in your face Hermione, what was that about you needing me at St Mungos?” Draco said calmly as he sat up and pulled his shirt back down.

Hermione glared at Harry for a second before turning her focus back to Draco. “We just got a wizard into the wing who ingested an experimental creation of his. The person who brought him in brought in a vial of the potion but we need someone to break it down and tell us how to reverse the effects.”

“I’ll head right over, feel free to stay until I get back Harry.” Draco said leaning down to give Harry a quick kiss before summoning his work robes from his room and stepping into the floo.

Harry watched him go with a small smile before turning back to Hermione for the tongue lashing he knew was coming. “Before you ask I’ve been back for about a year and a half, Draco only found out last week when he won a certificate to the tattoo parlor I opened when I came back that has gotten popular because I do good work not because of my name. I didn’t tell anyone I was back because I didn’t want things to go back to how they were before. I don’t want to be in the middle of the golden trio, I don’t want to be in the middle of your relationship with Ron, I don’t want to be the boy who lived or the saviour of the wizarding world. I just want to be Harry, that’s it. And somehow that’s all Draco sees me as despite everything. So yell all you want, be as angry as you want that I didn’t tell you, it won’t change anything.”

“I see.” Hermione said after a moment, sounding hurt. “I need to go back to work. Don’t worry I won’t tell anyone your secret.” And, without another word, she turned on her heel and flooed back to St Mungos.

Groaning Harry flopped on the couch and covered his face with a pillow. He had always been shit at relationships but this was a new low, he may well have just lost his best friend because he had issues processing feelings in a normal way. After laying there for a moment he decided he couldn’t lay there and be useless he got up and started poking around Draco’s kitchen gathering ingredients for a lasagne. Luckily for him Winky liked to keep a thoroughly stocked kitchen and there was everything he needed to make his dad’s sauce and noodles from scratch.

When Draco returned close to four hours later Harry was just pulling the tray out of the oven and setting it on the counter to cool. “I don’t know what you made but it smells amazing in here. Keep this up and I may not let you go home after all.” He teased as he stepped up behind Harry and wrapped his arms around the smaller man’s waist.

“Everything alright at St Mungos?” Harry asked leaning back against Draco after he made sure the lasagne he had spent so long on wouldn’t topple to the floor.

“Yeah, some imbecile tried to improve on the wolfsbane potion and it blew up in his face. He added too much asphodel root and it turned poisonous then blew up in his face. I was able to counteract the worst of it and the healers say he should wake up in the next day or so with no lingering effects.” Draco murmured, his face buried in Harry’s neck. “I love coming home to find you still here, even if you hadn’t cooked I’d still love that you were here.”

“Glad the bloke will be alright. And I’m happy you’re really alright with me being here and helping myself to your cabinets, I needed something to do with my hands after I talked to Hermione.”

Draco stepped back so he could spin Harry around to look at him before he spoke again. “Harry I know this all seems to be moving really really fast but I would honestly be okay if you never went back to what I’m guessing is a tiny flat above your shop.”

“Really? I mean whatever this is just started yesterday.”

“Really.” Draco assured him. “I don’t think this thing between us just started yesterday. I've said it before and I'll probably say it again, we have been dancing around this since the Gala six years ago, probably since even before that when we were still at Hogwarts together. You and I just feel right together, somehow despite everything we compliment each other perfectly. So yeah, if you want to keep staying here indefinitely I would love to have you here with me. And not just because you are an amazing cook."

Harry smiled up at Draco feeling safer and more loved than he had felt in years. Not that he would say he was in love yet, that was still a ways off even for his unhealthy tendencies to jump headlong into things. But he could see this traveling down that path easily, given time to grow. Leaning forward Harry pulled Draco into a tight hug before speaking, "I like the idea of us too. I like that this could be more than just a quick thing. Let's have dinner then we can discuss me staying around for a bit, yeah?"

Kissing the top of Harry's unruly hair Draco smiled and hugged Harry back just as tightly. "Sounds like a wonderful plan." Releasing Harry he leaned around him to look at the tray on the counter, "wait, I didn't know I had lasagne noodles?"

"Erm, you didn't. I made them from scratch, the sauce too. The only thing I didn't make myself was the cheese." Harry explained as he grabbed his wand and cast a cooling charm on the casserole so it was safe to serve before grabbing the spatula he had set out earlier and cutting into it. "Can you grab a couple plates?"

Draco snickered and turned to grab the plates from the cabinet behind them. "You know you could have just summoned them."

"Yeah, but I didn't fancy getting thwapped in the back of the head with a plate." Harry retorted as he placed a square of lasagne on each plate while Draco busied himself pulling pumpkin juice and soda out of the fridge and carrying them over to the table where a salad and a basket of garlic bread were already waiting. "You know you really didn't have to go to all of this work for dinner."

Harry shrugged as he set the plates on the table before pouring himself a glass of soda and sitting down. "I needed to do something, I couldn't just sit around after Hermione left. We didn't so much talk as I said some things I probably shouldn't have and then she left."

"What did you say that was so bad?" Draco asked, sitting down next to Harry with his own glass of pumpkin juice.

"I don't think any of it was really that horrible on its own but it was everything at once that became overwhelming." Harry explained as he portioned out salad onto both of their plates. "I told her how long I've been back and why I didn't tell them I was here. And I may have capped it off with a statement about how I left because I no longer wanted to be in the middle of their relationship."

Draco speared a bit of tomato and chewed it thoughtfully for a moment before he spoke. "While you probably didn't use much tact I can't really fault you for saying those things. You can't sustain a friendship if you're hiding things and keeping secrets from each other. And they really did need to know the truth, I'm amazed no one else has commented on their bickering."

Poking at his salad Harry didn't speak at first, mulling over what Draco had said as he ate. "I guess you're right. I just feel horrible about saying it like that, I usually try to avoid shouting at my friends."

"I understand that." Draco reassured after swallowing the last bites of his salad. "With those two though sometimes a bit of yelling is needed to get the message through properly."

Harry gave Draco a small smile as he cut off a bite of his lasagne and popped it into his mouth. "Usually that's more Ron's issue than Hermione's."

"I don't know about that, it's a fairly standard Gryffindor trait." Draco teased as he took his first bite of lasagne. "Merlin's beard Harry this is amazing."

"Dad's recipe, apparently my great grandparents came over from Italy and passed the family recipes down through his parents to him." Harry explained as he tucked into his dinner.

Draco hummed appreciatively as he started eating with a gusto that could rival Ron at his hungriest. Nothing further was said on the fight with Hermione over the next half hour while they tucked into their dinner, both feeling like they had said as much as was needed on the subject at this time. Later they could figure out how to repair what Harry felt like he broke, if it truly needed to be repaired. For now, they were content to enjoy just being together and eating the dinner Harry had spent so much time on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This really ran away from me. Please note I have changed the expected chapters from '2' to '?' because I don't know where this will end. I'm hoping I can wrap it up in one more chapter but we will see what the boys decide to do.
> 
> THIS IS NOT COMPLETE YET!!!!
> 
> [ My tumblr ](http://irishwolf-and-slytherinstar.tumblr.com/)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boy's relationship keeps changing and growing. An unexpected letter brings hope for their future.

The next morning when Harry woke up in an unfamiliar bed with a body tangled around him he wasn’t sure at first where he was. After a moment’s thought the night before came flooding back to him: him and Draco staying up far too late watching movies and talking about what they had been doing for the last five years which lead to them deciding that it was best if Harry just stayed over. So sometime in the wee hours of the morning they had toppled into Draco’s bed, curled up around each other and promptly fell asleep. Carefully Harry reached across the man still snoring beside him and grabbed a wand from the bedside table to cast a tempus charm. When it the time showed as a quarter to nine Harry bit back a curse and carefully extracted himself from the bed, disturbing Draco in the process despite his efforts not to.

“Harry?” Draco mumbled sleepily as he reached out to try and pull the other man back to bed.

Harry smiled and caught Draco’s hand to kiss the knuckles softly. “I’ve got to go, love, I’ve got a client at half past nine and I will barely make it on time. I’ll come back after I finish for the day though, I promise.” Harry murmured, leaning far enough over the bed to kiss Draco’s forehead.

“Mmm, you better.” Draco murmured, the last word fading into a quiet snore as Harry stepped out of the room and softly closed the door behind him.

Harry was still grinning when he toppled out of the floo in his shop and quickly hurried upstairs to change. Once he was dressed he hurried back downstairs and set about preparing up for his client that day. He had just finished twisting his normal bun into his hair and shoving his wand through it when he heard the floo flare to life beyond the curtain. Taking a breath he steeled himself for a long day before starting his normal client greeting.

~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later Draco woke up and reached out to find Harry but was saddened to find only empty space and cold sheets. As disappointment started to sink in he woke to enough to remember a half-asleep promise to come back after work which brought a large smile to Draco’s face and chased the disappointment away. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes Draco rolled out of bed to go get ready for the day.

When he emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam and reached out to grab his wand to cast his normal charms to keep his hair in place he was surprised to find Harry’s wand in its place. Feeling almost nervous he reached out and picked up the wand, when he felt the magic almost purring in his hand he nearly dropped it in surprise. Someone else’s wand wasn’t supposed to agree with your own magic, that had been drilled into him since before he could have a wand of his own. Sure you could use another’s wand but it never felt right. Holding Harry’s wand felt right.

Deciding it was best not to dwell on it he quickly cast his normal charms and finished his preparations for the day, even going so far as to tuck Harry’s wand in his wrist holster where he normally carried his own wand. Running his fingers over the wand to feel its calming warmth one more time he stepped through the floo to go check on the patient who had tried to make an improved wolfsbane.

~~~~~~~~~~

Around five that evening Draco was just deciding what to make for dinner when his floo flared to life and Harry came toppling out of it. “I don’t care if they pay triple the normal rate again, I’m not taking another Sunday appointment. The git I had today was a self-centered arse who spent most of the day trying to correct my technique to the point that I was wondering if I could get away with killing him with my tattoo machine.”

Draco laughed as he walked back into the sitting room to greet Harry. “I’m sorry it was a long day love, I’m sure having the wrong wand didn’t help.”

“Wrong wand?” Harry asked sounding confused as he reached up to tug the wand out of his bun. “Well, would you look at that. I must have grabbed the wrong one as I was getting ready without my glasses on and didn’t notice. It didn’t feel like the wrong wand though, it felt just as right as the one I’ve used since I was eleven.”

“I did some research on it after I checked on yesterday’s patient at St Mungos. Apparently it's rare but being able to use another’s wand without it feeling wrong is a sign that your magic is highly compatible and you would make a good match. From what little I could find about it they used to make betrothed couples in an arranged marriage try each other's wands to see if they would make a good match.” Draco explained as he took his wand when Harry offered it and tossed it on the table next to where he had dropped Harry’s earlier.

Harry tilted his head at Draco trying to decipher what he could possibly be saying. “So that means, if we chose to get married, we would make a good match?”

“Even if we never get married we are a good match for each other.” Draco clarified, leaning in to kiss Harry, something he had looked forward to all day just because he could now kiss the other man whenever he fancied.

Smiling Harry leaned in to return the kiss, relaxing into Draco’s hold. “Hmm I like that idea, marriage that is. Not any time soon but eventually.”

“Me too,” Draco murmured into Harry’s hair. “Now, enough serious talk. What do you want for dinner? I believe it’s my turn to cook.”

Harry kissed him one more time then slipped out of his grasp to go flop on the couch, toeing his shoes off as he made himself comfortable. “I decided on both meals yesterday, why don’t you cook one of your favorites tonight?”

“Pizza it is.” Draco laughed, walking back into the kitchen and hunting down ingredients then pulling them out of the cabinets. “Why don’t you come sit in here with me and watch while we talk about the rest of your day?”

After pretending to think about it for a moment Harry rolled off the couch and padded into the kitchen to take a seat on the counter behind Draco. “Not much else to tell really. I had a session with a guy who wanted this string of Chinese characters down his spine but he could barely take the pain so what should have been a two and a half or three-hour tattoo took closer to four.”

“Oi! Tattoo’s on the spine hurt!” Draco squawked indignantly, pretending to be offended.

Harry smirked and hopped off the counter before tugging his tee-shirt over his head and spinning around to show Draco that he had the sword of Gryffindor tattooed with the hilt at the base of his neck and the blade all the way down to dip into the waistband of his pants. “I’m aware they are a unique brand of torture. Did you think the couple you could see on my arms were the only ones I had?”

“I… uhh… _fuck_ you look good covered in all of that ink.” Draco responded, sounding slightly stunned. Without realizing he was doing it he reached out and started tracing the glistening lines of the sword then moved on to following the prints that were walking around it. “What are the prints?”

Harry shivered and leaned into the touch. “The hooves are a stag for my dad, the mid-sized clawless ones are for Sirius, and the larger clawed ones are for Remus. When they were in school together they went by Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs.”

“And I’m guessing the lilies on your right arm are for your mum? What about the willow vines on your left?”

“Correct on the trio of lilies.” Harry said, spinning and holding out his forearm so Draco could look closer at the three lilies tiered along the inside, the magic imbued in them making them look like they were being teased by a gentle breeze. “The willow vines are for the whomping willow back at Hogwarts. In second year it tried to kill me, in third year it saved my life, and when we went back for eighth year it was the only way I could come and go from the castle without being bombarded by the press. In some ways it was one of the biggest influences on my life at Hogwarts so it felt right to commemorate it somehow.”

Draco smiled and pulled Harry’s up to kiss each of the lilies. “Have Remus and Sirius seen these yet?”

“Not in person no. I sent them photographs of my back when it was all done but they don’t know about the willow or the flowers yet.” Harry said with a shrug, “if anyone would truly understand why I got the whomping willow it would be those two so I wanted it to be a surprise when I saw them again.”

“I’m not going to push but now that Hermione knows you’re back you should probably tell them too. I remember you telling me how close the three of you had gotten when you were living in Grimmauld after the war. And while I’m sure they would understand you taking time for you, they deserve to hear you are back from you not Hermione if she lets it slip.” Draco said softly, turning back to the dough he had been beating into shape before Harry’s impromptu show and tell in the kitchen.

“I’ve been thinking the same thing.” Harry agreed as he yanked his shirt back over his head. “I know they wouldn’t have an issue with me being gay, that’s not what has kept me from telling. It’s just that I worry that they will be hurt by my leaving the country and staying away after I came back.”

Draco grunted and focused on kneading the dough into a ball before dropping it into a bowl and covered it with a towel. Once it was set to rise Draco turned and leaned against the counter facing Harry, not minding that he was getting flour all over himself in the process. “Look, I’ve only spoken with my cousin and his husband briefly at one gala or another but I know they love you very much. And if anyone would understand why you acted it would be the two of them.”

Sliding off the counter again Harry pressed close to Draco, taking comfort in the other man’s touch. “I know you’re right, truly I do. But after the disaster that was Hermione finding out I'm back I’m nervous. I mean if anyone should have understood my need to have a quiet life it should have been someone who had seen what the spotlight has made my life.”

“You’re right that Hermione should have understood but she’s never been particularly adept at more emotional matters from what I’ve seen. Look, why don’t you do it somewhere private like at your shop? Maybe send them a letter offering Sirius an appointment? I can be there if you want, I basically set my own hours at St Mungos unless there’s an emergency so I can take time off to be there with you. And that way you have a little more control over it and maybe it won’t go as sour as it did when Hermione barged in.” Draco offered, holding Harry tight as he soothed his hand over the other man’s back.

Harry thought about that for a moment, running it over in his head. Deciding it was what he wanted to do he pulled back to look at Draco with a nervous smile. “Can you be available tomorrow? My shop is normally closed on Monday’s so I could invite them over tomorrow.”

“I will be wherever you need me.” Draco promised, leaning in to kiss Harry gently. “For however long this lasts, which hopefully will be the rest of our lives.”

Taking a deep breath Harry pulled back to look at Draco, "if you're sure you don't mind then I have one more favor to ask of you."

"I will do nearly anything for you, mon coeur." Draco agreed readily, letting Harry go so he could start making the sauce for their pizza.

"Can you write the note and send it?" Harry asked, hopping back on the counter to watch Draco putter around the kitchen working on different components of their dinner. "Remus and Sirius would both recognize my handwriting even if I tried to change it."

Draco smiled as he started adding spices to the tomato paste he had poured into his skillet, tasting it to make sure he had the right mix. "You don't have to explain yourself, I understand. I will do it after dinner alright?"

"Thank you, Dray. Is there anything I can do to help with dinner?"

Draco thought for a moment then shook his head as he pulled the sauce off the heat. "The dough needs to rest for about an hour so right now no. But when the pizza is baking you can do the salad if you don't mind?"

"I don't mind at all." Harry agreed as he slid off the counter to pull Draco against him. "Now you said we have about an hour to kill?" He murmured into the crook of Draco's neck, punctuating each word with a kiss.

Unable to find his words Draco responded by tilting his head to give Harry better access, shivering slightly at the contact. When Harry nipped just below his jaw Draco gasped and reflexively wrapped his hands around Harry's hips to pull him impossibly closer.

"Couch?" Harry asked stepping back slightly as if waiting for permission to proceed. "We can spend the hour snogging like fifth years."

Draco blinked at Harry for a second before grinning slowly and slipping away to walk over to the couch. "Well, why are you still standing there?"

Moving with the lithe grace of someone who had spent years honing their body for flying and a wicked gleam in his eye Harry followed Draco over to the couch where he promptly straddled the other man’s lap and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Is this alright?" He murmured against Draco's lips.

"More than alright." Draco reassured as he grabbed Harry's hips and pulled him down to grind his growing erection against him.

Harry moaned and arched into Draco trying to get more friction before leaning down and capturing the other man's lips in a heated kiss. When he pulled back gasping for air Harry quickly tugged his shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor then leaned down to nibble at Draco's neck while he worked on loosening the buttons of his shirt to shove it off Draco's shoulders. "You're beautiful Dray, so beautiful." He murmured kissing the skin he had revealed by pushing the other man's shirt off of his shoulders.

"Harry..." Draco breathed, losing his sentence in the onslaught of sensation. "Can I... can I touch you?"

Sitting back on his heels Harry tilted his head to look down at Draco curiously. "We are touching, quite a lot."

"No, here." Draco explained tentatively reaching out a hand and resting it on the fly of Harry's pants. "I don't want to rush you, but I want to taste you."

Harry blinked as understanding washed over him. "I would like that," he agreed quietly suddenly feeling nervous for some reason.

"If you don't like something tell me alright?" Draco pressed feeling Harry tense with nerves as he carefully rolled them both over on the couch. Once he had gotten a nod of agreement he slowly started releasing the buttons of Harry’s fly. While his hands were busy his mouth mapped the skin of the other man’s torso with his mouth, making note of the spots that drew breathy moans and gasps from Harry’s mouth.Just as Draco started to work Harry's pants down his hips there was a persistent tapping at the window which made Draco look up curiously.

Harry groaned and flopped his head back on the couch. "Of course, we finally start getting somewhere fun and we get interrupted." He grumbled playfully as Draco got up and went to see who was owling at this time on a Sunday night.

After relieving the owl of its burden Draco watched it fly off before looking at the envelope in his hands. "Huh, that's odd. It's addressed to me and sealed with the Black family crest."

"Sirius is the only one who can use that and he only does when it's something important." Harry said tugging his pants back into place and fastening them before sitting up and looking at Draco with concerned eyes. "Do you think Hermione broke her promise and told him I was back?"

Draco bit his lip as he sat back down on the couch next to Harry. "I think she told him something and now he's going to tell me to stay away from you." He whispered, his nervous fear obvious in his voice.

"No matter what he says I'm not leaving Dray so you might as well read it. If it was bad he would have sent a howler, Sirius doesn't know the meaning of restraint." Harry joked lightly, wrapping a comforting arm around Draco's shoulders and pulling him tighter against his side.

Nodding Draco took a deep breath then ran a finger under the wax to release the seal so he could pull the letter out to read it, his eyes growing wider with every word. Once he finished he passed it over to harry to read, feeling shocked at the words Sirius had written.

Harry took it with a quick glance at Draco to make sure he was alright before he started reading. When his partner nodded with a tentative smile Harry turned his eyes to the paper.

_Draco,_   
_Hermione reached out to me and Remus today to express her concerns that Harry was being held captive by you because she saw him at your flat when his last correspondence from less than a week ago indicated he was in the states._   
_First off, I want to reassure you that I do not believe that in the slightest. Harry is too_ _strong-willed_ _to be held by someone he did not want to be held by and from everything I have heard you have changed quite a lot since your school days._   
_Secondly_ _, I want to say thank you for giving him a safe place and keeping his secrets. I don't know why he didn't tell anyone he was back, I'm sure he will explain it in his own time, but I am glad he had someone to talk to when he came back. I think if anyone could understand what Harry went through it would be you._   
_If it's agreeable to you,_ _me_ _and Remus would like to have you and Harry over for dinner tonight. No explanation is expected, we just want to get to know the young man Harry is with. I know it is a bit short notice but I think we have quite a lot to catch up on. No need to reply if you are coming, just floo over to Grimmauld Place around seven._   
_Hoping to see you both soon,_   
_Sirius and Remus Black_

"So I guess you will have to wait until tomorrow for my pizza then." Draco said after a moment, still sounding a bit surprised that Sirius had been so open and accepting in his letter.

Harry nodded, feeling a bit shell-shocked himself. "I should have known Hermione would have to tell someone. If she thinks it’s for the best she can never keep quiet about something. In third year she rushed off to tell McGonagall the second she found out I got a Firebolt, in fourth year she didn’t believe I could figure out anything about my tasks in the tournament without her, in sixth year she constantly pushed my ideas about you being the one behind the attacks aside and tried to take the potions book Snape had written in away. It’s always her way that’s best, no matter the situation."

Pulling Harry close Draco ran a hand reassuringly down his partners back, he knew how it felt to have someone who was supposed to have your back betray and push against you because they didn't trust you to know your own mind. Pansy and Blaise had done that to him almost constantly after the war, that had been what made him cut off contact with them despite having been friends since they were in nappies.

After a few moments, Harry took a breath and smiled at Draco. "Well, I think we should probably get ready to go. I have to go back to my flat and grab something more appropriate than a Black Sabbath tee-shirt and ripped jeans to wear to dinner."

"Can I come with you? I'd like to see where you live, if I am trying to convince you to move in here I need to see what I'm up against." Draco teased with a playful smirk as he started re-buttoning his shirt. "And I can call Winky while we are there and she can bring back anything you need to stay the night again here so you don't have to rush out un-showered again tomorrow."

"At the pace we are going I think as long as tonight doesn't end in disaster I might start moving my things in slowly and spending more time here than at my flat." Harry said grabbing his wand off the coffee table then stepping up to the fireplace and grabbing a pinch of floo powder before turning back to smirk Draco. "If that's what you want of course?"

Draco grinned at Harry as the other man backed into the fireplace. “I would like that very much, as long as I actually get to wake up to you and not empty sheets.”

Laughing happily Harry blew Draco a kiss then called out the name of his studio and let the fireplace whisk him away knowing that Draco would follow him. After he had slid out of the fireplace he quickly hauled himself to his feet to get out of the way when he heard the floo roaring to life behind him.

“I need to teach you how now to fall out of the floo.” Draco said with a laugh as he stepped out as graceful as ever and dusted himself off.

Harry stuck his tongue out at Draco playfully then held out his hand to the other man. “You can do that later, we only have just enough time for me to get dressed and pack a bag to send back to your flat before we have to be at Grimmauld Place for dinner.”

Chuckling Draco took the offered hand and followed Harry through the shop and up to his flat. When Harry pushed through the door at the top of the stairs Draco stopped in the door and stared around the flat, taking in how Harry had been living since he returned from his time in the states. Just inside the door was a large open room with an island counter separating it into a kitchen and living room that appeared to take up three-quarters of the flat. Looking to his left he saw the short hall Harry had disappeared down with a door halfway down and another one open at the end. It was smaller than Draco’s own flat but it felt much larger due to the open floor plan.

“Dray? Everything alright?” Harry called poking his head out of the room at the end of the hall.

Draco turned to him with a smile, “just admiring your flat.” He reassured walking down the hall to Harry. Stopping in front of Harry he leaned in and gave the other man a kiss. “It screams Harry Potter lives here, it’s so warm and inviting. When you fully move in with me would you like to help me redecorate our flat?”

“I’m glad you like it here but you don’t have to change your flat to fit my style. I like the minimalist style you have too, it is very Draco.” Harry said with a smile as he stepped back into his room and quickly fished out a pair of pressed trousers and a button-down.

Smiling Draco watched Harry flick his wand to make a weeks worth of clothes quickly pack themselves into the bag as well then slip past him to go into what was apparently the bathroom. “It is more designer than Draco, I paid someone to set the flat for me because I was too busy doing my apprenticeship when I bought it. I’ve been thinking about updating it for a while now and you moving in is a perfect reason to.”

Harry re-emerged from the bathroom wearing the new outfit and carrying a couple bottles and a toothbrush which he dropped into the bag on his bed Draco recognized as the one with an undetectable extension charm on it Harry had used the day before. “If you are sure that is what you want then I will happily help out. But don’t just do it because it’s what you think I want or expect of you, alright?”

“Of course, mon coeur. I’m too stubborn to do something just because I think it would make the man I’m falling in love with happy.” Draco teased lightly as Harry closed the now packed bag and held it out to him. “Winky!”

The small elf appeared with a pop behind him and quickly gave a small curtsey. “Yes Master Draco, was you needing something from miss Winky?”

“Can you please take this bag to the flat and unpack it in my room? There’s a spare wardrobe shrunk in the trunk under the bed, please pull that out and set it up for Harry’s things.” Draco asked the elf, crouching down to look her in the eye as he held out the bag to her. “And I started a pizza in the kitchen but it turns out we won't be home for dinner so can you please finish preparing it then store it uncooked and we can have it for lunch tomorrow?”

“Master Harry is coming to live with us!?” Winky squeaked excitedly as she took the bag, a wide smile splitting her face.

Harry stepped up and followed Draco’s lead, squatting down to be at Winky’s eye-level. “That’s the plan but I’m moving in slowly over the next few weeks.”

Winky’s grin grew even wider at those words. “I will make sure everything is set up for master Harry!” She squeaked, taking the bag and disappearing with a pop.

“She’s lucky to call you her master.” Harry remarked after she had disappeared again, turning to look at Draco as he spoke. “You respect her in a way most wizards wouldn’t, you even got down on her level to speak with her which I’ve never seen anyone other than myself do.”

Shrugging Draco stood back up and held out a hand to help Harry. “She deserves it, all house elves do. It’s just slow change, getting the rest of the wizarding world to see that. But enough about me suddenly growing a heart, ready to go face the lions for dinner?”

Harry took a deep breath and pulled Draco in for a hug to calm his nerves before pulling back to smile at him. “Let’s go see what my godfather and his husband have to say.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I think I'm on track to finish this in four (maybe five) chapters. Sorry this took a while to get out I wasn't sure of where this was going and it took me a while to get back into the rhythm of this story.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco go to dinner at Grimmauld Place and get a reaction to their story that they never dreamed of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a bit to get up! Please let me know what you think!

Sirius was sitting at the table nursing a cup of tea trying to focus on Remus’ story about the newest werewolf the foundation had taken in. If asked though Sirius couldn't tell you what Remus was actually on about, he was too busy watching the fireplace for the telltale flash of green that he was hoping to see.

“Pads, they will come alright? It’s not even seven yet, they’ve got time.” Remus reassured when he noticed Sirius staring at the fireplace again instead of actually listening to Remus talk about the werewolf charity they had started together just a few months before.

“What if they don’t? I mean Harry obviously didn’t tell anyone he came back for a reason.” Sirius fretted, getting up to check on the chicken and potatoes roasting in the oven for the fifth time in the last twenty minutes.

Before Remus could respond the fireplace roared to life and Draco stepped out and quickly moved to the side. “Good evening Sirius, Remus.”

“Hullo Draco, where’s -” Remus was again cut off by the fireplace flashing green, this time spitting Harry out, who promptly landed on his face on the stone floor.

Harry groaned and rolled onto his back to look up at his boyfriend. “We definitely need to start those lessons sooner rather than later, Dray. I think I broke my face.”

Sirius stood looking down at his godson sprawled out on the floor, barely holding back his laughter. “You really do take after James, he never figured out how to use the floo either.” He teased as he held out a hand to pull Harry to his feet. “It’s good to see you again, we’ve missed you, Harry.”

“I’ve missed you guys too.” Harry replied, quickly pulling Sirius into a tight hug once he was upright. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was back from the states, it just never felt like the right time to tell you I had been keeping secrets from you both.”

Pushing away from the table stepped over to join him in the hug. “Don’t apologize. We remember what it was like for you before you left, we don’t hold you going into hiding against you.”

“And you, thank you for helping him.” Sirius said with a grin as he pulled away to look at Draco, holding his arms out for a hug. “I know we haven’t been had a chance to get to know each other but before she went into Slytherin me and your mother were quite close, I’d like to get to know the wonderful young man she raised.”

Draco stepped into the hug with a smile, returning it just as fiercely as Harry had. “I would like to know the man my mother told me so many stories about growing up. Is it true you and Regulus used to charm the chairs at the holiday dinner to fart when someone sat on them?”

“That was all Regulus, I just taught him the charm.” Sirius laughed as he steered Draco over to the table to sit down with Remus and Harry. “And it wasn’t every chair, just the ones certain relatives we didn’t like would be sitting on.”

After Draco had set down to the left of him Harry laced their fingers together on top of the table, knowing Sirius or Remus would notice the willow vines. “So how much did Hermione tell you?”

“Just that you were back in England and that you had apparently been back for a while but not told anyone you were here,” Remus replied with a shrug. “We both told her it was your business and you had been of age for ten years now and could make your own choices when it came to reporting your whereabouts.”

Harry rolled his eyes exasperatedly, of course Hermione had only given enough details to make it look worse than it was. “So she gave you the bare basics, less than half the story really. I came back about a year and a half ago after spending two years in San Francisco learning how to tattoo. When I came back I opened Ládreacht Tattoos and have given every client very strict contracts to ensure they didn’t reveal my identity. Draco won a certificate for a tattoo at a charity auction about three weeks ago and came into my shop week before last for what turned out to be a much larger tattoo than he had bid on.”

“You own that shop?! I’ve been trying to get an appointment there for months!” Sirius exclaimed, sounding indignant that his godson had been turning him down for so long.

Draco chuckled at the fact that the only thing Sirius had taken away from Harry’s mini-speech was that he owned Ládreacht. “You should have gone to the auction, I know you were invited. You are probably the only one who would have tried to outbid me.”

Across the table Remus was watching the three of them talk curiously, taking in how much happier Harry looked now compared to the last time he had seen the young man. “So why didn’t you want anyone to know you were back?” Remus finally asked when the laughter had died down.

“It was nice not having press waiting for me every time I stepped out to the shops,” Harry said with a shrug. “And it was even nicer not being in the middle of the golden trio, more specifically Hermione and Ron. I couldn’t take winding up in the middle of another one of their fights.”

As Harry explained his reasoning behind his actions Sirius pushed away from the table and went over to pull dinner out of the over, charming it to float over to the table as he pulled the drinks out of the refrigerator. He didn’t want to speak out of place about two people he knew his godson cared about very much but over the years he had grown to dislike the other two-thirds of the Golden Trio because of how they treated their friendship. Ron was always more concerned with the fame that came from being friends with the Boy Who Lived and Hermione was always more worried about mothering Harry than being his friend. All in all the way the pair of him acted made him think fondly of his days as a marauder, thankful he had real friends at his side who didn’t want something for him or to do something because they didn’t think he could do it on his own.  
  
Remus nodded his understanding, he couldn’t remember the last time a week had gone by that he didn’t open the Prophet to see an article headlining the society pages about the golden pairs latest public spat. Harry wanting to stay as far from that as he could made perfect sense, and doing so by staying away from everyone was most likely the easiest way to do that. “So what are you going to do about them now that they know you are back?”

“I don’t think that will be an issue,” Draco snorted. “Me and Hermione may work together now but I know she still doesn’t like me all that much so I doubt she will be coming around my flat to bitch at Harry and she doesn’t actually know which shop he owns.”

Squeezing Draco’s hand to calm him down a bit Harry turned his attention back to Remus. “I’m going to keep living how I have for the last couple years with the exception of hopefully coming here once a week for dinner.”

“Only once a week?” Sirius asked, his tone teasing, as he leaned over the table to start carving the chicken. “By my math, you owe us at least two years worth of weekly dinners so we better be seeing you more than once a week.”

“Well I was going to offer you both a session at Ládreacht but if you just want repayment in dinners I’m sure that can be arranged, what do you think Draco?” Harry mused, looking at Draco with a faux-serious expression.

Draco schooled his expression to match Harry’s despite his urge to laugh at his boyfriend's antics. “That sounds fair to me. I mean I paid fifteen hundred galleons for my tattoo and you were going to give it to them for free. Your studio time is obviously more valuable than dinner time so let’s do the dinners.

Smirking Sirius couldn’t help but join in on the joke, feeling like his family was more complete than it had been in years. “Well I mean we don’t even know if your work is all that good, maybe you just gained popularity because you do magical tattoos.” He teased as he dropped slices of chicken on to the plates he had set out in front of each person.

“I can show you some of his work and you can decide for yourself.” Draco offered with a smirk that was almost identical to Sirius’.

“Well I want the tattoo either way, no matter what my husband says but I would love to see your tattoo after dinner Draco.” Remus laughed, shaking his head at the banter that was so reminiscent of his marauder days.

Draco grinned as he grabbed the bowl of peas and carrots and scooped some onto his plate before swapping it with the potatoes Harry was holding out to him. "It's not complete yet but I would love to show you what Harry has done so far. He is an amazing artist, I can't wait for our session next Friday to finish it."

With a blush, Harry playfully swatted Draco's shoulder after Draco had taken the potatoes from his hand. "My art isn't that good, I drew your tattoo in an hour tops. You're just praising it because we are dating now."

Sirius watched the pair bicker for a moment before turning to grin at Remus. "Don't they remind you of James and Lily?" He asked, nudging his husband's shoulder before piling sides on his own plate.

"I was thinking me and you, Draco has the same Black family attitude you and Tonks flaunt so well." Remus replied with a laugh as Harry and Draco continued to snark at each other while they ate.

When Draco smirked triumphantly at Harry Sirius choked back a laugh and leaned in to whisper in Remus' ear. "You're right, if Draco had dark hair I'd think I was watching a pensieve memory. Merlin, it's uncanny how much Black you see in him."

Draco looked up at Sirius with a wry smile, "we can hear you talking. Harry was right, you don't know the meaning of subtle."

"Oi! Don't throw me under the bus!" Harry exclaimed laughing, his fork full of potatoes halfway to his mouth.

"And there's James!" Remus laughed as he speared a bite of chicken. "Morrigana the idea of James and Sirius dating is a scary thought."

Sirius shuddered at the thought, turning slightly green around the gills. "Please don't joke about that, James was my brother. The idea of doing anything with him is like the idea of doing something Regulus."

That statement was enough to make Remus choke on the bite of chicken he was chewing on. Once he was finally breathing normally again he shot a cheeky grin at Sirius, "so James and Reg dating in our fifth year before everything went to hell didn't make you happy at all? I mean if they are both your brothers then you should have hated that."

Unable to respond without really sticking his foot in it Sirius resorted to sticking his tongue out at Remus before shoving a forkful of potatoes into his mouth which caused the other man to laugh as he tucked into his own dinner.

Draco focused on his own plate to hide his smile, the way Sirius and Remus were bickering reminded him of meals at the Slytherin table at Hogwarts. It was all so different from his own family but he had never felt more at home than he did sitting around this table casually talking about their lives.

Forty minutes later when the plates were cleared and everyone had retired to the drawing room for a cup of tea and biscuits Remus turned to Draco with a smile. “So, would you be willing to show us that tattoo now?”

“As long as you don’t mind me getting shirtless in your drawing room.” Draco smirked as he stood and started unbuttoning his shirt. “Though from the stories I’ve heard my bare chest will be among the least scandalous things that the drawing room of the most Noble and Ancient House of Black has seen judging from the stories Harry has told me.”

Sirius didn’t even try to feign innocence, grinning proudly at Draco’s statement. “Oh did Harry tell you about the last new years he spent here? That was one of our finer moments if I do say so myself.”

“You goaded me into fucking you in full view of your mother’s portrait and you’re calling that one of your finest moments?” Remus asked with a chuckle.

Groaning Harry leaned forward and hid his face in his hands. “No, I didn’t tell him about that. I’ve been doing my best to forget I walked in on that actually.”

Draco snickered as he dropped his shirt on the couch next to his boyfriend. “I’m so glad I didn’t walk in on that, I don’t think there is an obliviate spell strong enough to erase that image.”

“There’s not, I’ve tried.” Harry joked, smirking at his godfather. “Things that glowingly white tend to scar your retinas.”

As he opened his mouth to reply Remus was distracted by the tattoo on Draco's back, even incomplete it was a sight to behold. "Wow Harry, you really do deserve the reputation you've created for your shop. That is stunning."

"The amount of detail you've worked in so far is gorgeous. How many hours have you been working on this?" Sirius asked as he pushed himself off the sofa to take a closer look.

Harry paused for a second to run it over in his head. "Draco's been in the shop for thirteen hours so far. We've got another appointment Friday to hopefully finish it."

Grumbling playfully Draco stuck his tongue out at Harry. "I still say you are enjoying torturing me more than you are enjoying creating art on my skin."

"Hmm, that may be part of it. Getting you back for how you acted at Hogwarts and all that jazz." Harry teased back with a smile.

"I knew it!" Draco declared triumphantly as he grabbed his shirt and slipped into it.

Sirius was shaking his head laughing from where he had walked over to the drink cart to pour himself a nightcap. "Tattoos don't hurt that bad, though the back is worse than some areas."

Trying not to laugh Harry nodded his agreement. "The words of the House of Potter down my ribs hurt more than the sword down my back but the back definitely hurt more than my lilies."

"Wait..." Remus interjected, turning to look at Harry from midway to the sofa Sirius had claimed. "You told us about the sword but that's all. How many tattoos do you have now?"

Harry ducked his head sheepishly, trying to hide his grin. "Um... three lilies, a willow vine, paw-prints for you two and dad, the sword of Gryffindor, and the words the sorting hat used to describe Gryffindor my first year. So seven total." He explained, holding out his arms so the other two could see the lilies and vines.

"I missed the sorting hat's words, where do you have those?" Draco asked curiously, wondering if he had missed something when Harry had taken his shirt off in the kitchen earlier.

With a grin Harry bent down and tugged up his left pant leg to show the letters that were shifting between gold and scarlet on his calf. "That one probably hurt the worst to be honest."

Sirius smirked at Harry knowingly. "Yeah, calves hurt. I've got Moony's paw-prints on the back of mine and I was nearly crying by the end. But enough about pain, I want to see my paw-print!" He finished, bouncing eagerly.

Rolling his eyes Harry stood up and quickly unbuttoned his shirt without the same fanfare Draco had given then turned around to show Sirius and Remus his back. "Hopefully they are all there, dad likes to hide out of sight behind the sword." He said with a laugh.

"He's there," Sirius whispered reverently, walking back over to trace his fingers along the paw-prints prancing around Harry's back. "Seeing all three of us together like this is beautiful, thank you, Harry, for honoring us like this."

Remus stepped up and pulled Harry into a tight hug. "I agree. Knowing you care about me enough to memorialize me right alongside your father and godfather is a humbling feeling."

After returning the hug just as tightly Harry stepped back to smile at Remus. "I wouldn't have won this war without you, you were just as instrumental in defeating Voldemort as my mother's sacrifice was. You were the first Defense teacher at Hogwarts that actually taught me and I wouldn't have survived as long as I did without that."

"He's right Remus, you were the only teacher who really taught us. You saved my life as well, I wouldn't have been able to make it through living in the Manor while the Dark Lord and his cronies were living there if you hadn't been my teacher." Draco agreed, stepping up to offer Remus a hug as well.

Without hesitation, Remus pulled the young man in for a tight hug. "I'm so glad you came out the other side of the war in one piece, Harry looks so happy with you and I can't imagine him being that happy with anyone else. Welcome to the family Draco."

Draco was blushing when Remus finally released him from the hug. "Thank you, Remus.”

"Call him uncle Moony if you want to make him blush as bad as you are." Harry offered with a laugh as he pulled Draco in for a hug of his own. "And Sirius is uncle Snuffles."

With a pout, Sirius loudly objected to that statement. "Oi! It's Padfoot or nothing!"

"Moony I kind of understand. That's because of you being a werewolf right?" Draco asked as he slipped out of Harry's arms to sit back down. When Remus nodded his agreement Draco turned to look at Sirius curiously. "Why Padfoot then? You aren't a werewolf as well are you?"

Deciding it was easier to show instead of explaining Sirius palmed his wand and shifted into the great black dog Harry was so familiar with before pouncing on the couch and licking Draco from chin to hairline.

"Oof! Alright! Alright! I get it!" Draco laughed, shoving fruitlessly at the furry mass in his lap.

Harry was doubled over laughing at Padfoot's antic so he missed the great black dog leaping off of Draco's lap and trotting over to him. As Harry took a breath to collect himself Padfoot seized the opportunity to give Harry an incredibly slobbery lick of his own causing the younger man to collapse into a fit of giggles again.

Padding back over to Remus Sirius shifted back to normal so he could grin at the boys who were laughing while furiously wiping slobber from their faces. "That is why Padfoot!"

Remus was barely holding back his own laughter, "c'mere you giant dork." He said with a grin as he held out his arms for Sirius to join him on the sofa facing Harry and Draco. "You know you can just tell people, you don't have to lick them to explain."

Glancing over at the still giggling pair opposite them Sirius shrugged. "Yeah I know, but doing it like that is so much fun. Making people laugh makes me happy, you know that."

"You'll make me happier if you don't cover me in slobber." Draco retorted as he pulled Harry against his chest.

"I make no promises about future slobber levels." Sirius replied with a grin and a wink before changing the subject back to where they had left off at dinner. "So how did you two wind up together?"

Harry turned and kissed the hand Draco had draped over his shoulder with a smile. "During his first session me and Draco were catching up and I told him I had realized I was gay while I was living in San Francisco. At the end of his second session, he kissed me goodbye and I ended up going over to his house the day after, which was yesterday, and haven't gone back to my flat since. I know that it probably seems like it's moving really fast and in some ways it is."

"Harry, we understand." Remus interrupted, cutting off his rambling before Harry could get a full head of steam behind him. "Me and Sirius went from friends to lovers to married in the span of about a month during the first war. If anyone is going to understand a relationship going all or nothing it's the two of us, I promise we will never judge you."

Nuzzling Remus' cheek Sirius sighed happily. "Even if we hadn't been facing a war I wouldn't have changed anything other than leaving Remus alone for twelve years so soon after our wedding. It just felt right and I'm sure the two of you felt the same thing."

"Thank you, both of you. I was worried his family wouldn't understand why he would choose an ex-Death Eater over the hordes of suitors I know he had pounding at his door before he left London. Knowing both of you support him makes me that much more confident in our future together." Draco said softly, emotion heavily weighing on his voice.

Harry couldn't respond past the lump that had welled up in his throat at the words of the two men he had taken to calling his uncles over the last decade but he was able to give bother of them a bright smile. After a few moments, he had collected himself enough to speak again, "thank you so much. Having you in my corner means the world to me when I know that Hermione and Ron won't be. Not after I held off on telling them I was back."

Huffing Sirius rolled his eyes at that statement. "Listen, I've held back for years but I want to say something, can you promise you won't hate me for it?"

"I could never hate you, Sirius, I think it's in my DNA to love you." Harry responded easily.

Sirius smiled at the sentiment before taking a deep breath and starting to speak. "Hermione and Ron are shite friends. Ron only wants the fame that comes with being close to the saviour of the wizarding world. Hermione only wants someone she can mother, if she hadn't latched onto you two in first year I'm sure she would have found someone else. Draco is a better friend than both of them and you've only counted him as a friend for what, six years?"

Next to Sirius Remus was nodding his agreement. "I remember how those two acted the year I taught all of you. If Hermione wasn't nagging you about some homework assignment or another Ron was off trying to gain attention for something. We aren't saying to cut them out of your life, but putting some room between you and them was probably a smart move. If they don't support you and Draco then maybe they don't need to be counted among your closest friends anymore."

“They are right Harry. After a decade and a half those two will always be your friends but maybe you don’t need to welcome them back with open arms like you always did before.” Draco agreed softly, not wanting to push Harry away from him so soon after they had found their rhythm together.

Harry nodded sadly, hearing those loved speak the thoughts he had been trying to ignore was a wake-up call he needed. “The voice in the back of my head has been saying the same thing but I’ve been trying to ignore it. If our friendship was still as strong as it had been during our years at Hogwarts it wouldn’t have been so easy to not tell them I was back.” Pausing he took a breath before smiling at Sirius and Remus. “I’ll give ‘Mione a week to calm down then invite her to the shop to talk. If she doesn’t see eye to eye with me then I’ll let her know where they both stand.”

“I’m proud of you son, and I know James would be too. It takes a lot to stand up for yourself like this.” Sirius said smiling fondly at Harry.

Next to Sirius Remus was nodding his agreement, studying the pair in across from him with love in his eyes. “You may be the spitting image of your father but you have your mother's heart. The would both be proud of the young man you’ve become. Now, enough heavy topics for the night. When would you like me and Sirius to come into the shop?”

Harry gave Remus a thankful smile at the topic change, knowing if they kept talking about his parents he would likely start crying. Even at twenty-six years old hearing his parents' dearest friends say his parents would be proud of him made him emotional. Clearing his throat he grinned at both of them, “well I’m closed Mondays so if you know what you want one of you can come in tomorrow and one next Monday before Hermione comes over.” Harry shifted closer to Draco as he watched the other two have a silent conversation with their eyes.

Finally Sirius grinned triumphantly, “I would like tomorrow's session, please. I want to get a set of antlers with lilies around the base between my shoulders on my back.”

“And I’ll take next week, I just want three lilies like yours with hoof prints walking around them on my arm.” Remus declared confidently.

Nodding in understanding Harry stood up and tugged Draco to his feet. “I love both your concepts but if I’m going to see Sirius early tomorrow to get started I need to get home and get to sketching. I’ll see you around ten tomorrow, yeah?”

Sirius stood up and gave Harry a hug before pushing him towards Remus and pulling Draco into a hug as well. “Sounds perfect, I’ll bring scones and coffee.”

“Remus, if you want to come with him I would love to talk to you about a law my family is sponsoring and get your input?” Draco asked as he turned to pull Remus into a hug.

“I’ll be there,” Remus promised.

As they made their way down to the kitchen so Harry and Draco could floo home Sirius realized something. “Where do we floo to tomorrow Harry?”

Giving his godfather a cheeky grin Harry grabbed some floo powder from the mantle and stepped up to the fire and tossed it into the fire with a shout of Ládreacht before he was whisked away.

“The floo name is the name of the shop, Ládreacht,” Draco explained with a laugh as he took some floo powder himself. “Seeing as Harry just went through with no issues I’m guessing he already opened the floo to you guys so I will see you tomorrow morning yeah?”

As Draco disappeared into the flames the pair called out their goodnights before dousing the lights in the kitchen and heading to bed feeling much more relaxed than they had hours earlier when they didn’t know if Harry would be coming over or why he hadn’t talked to them about him being back from the states.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius and Remus come to the shop for a tattoo and leave with more than they expected to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about the unexpected hiatus guys. My personal life went to shit and it took me a bit to regain my balance but I'm here now and this is my camp NaNo project so it should hopefully be done by the end of the month!!!

Draco was an early riser, he always had been even prior to Hogwarts, so it was no surprise that he was awake first the morning after dinner at Grimmauld place. Knowing there was still a bit of time before they had to get up and get ready to meet Sirius and Remus Draco quietly propped himself up onto his elbow to study the man sprawled out on his stomach next to him. Carefully he reached out and traced his fingers around the paw-prints that were surprisingly still compared to the other times Draco had seen them. As he studied the ink his thoughts wandered to the love Harry showed by getting tattoos representing the people who he cared about and Draco wondered if he would ever earn enough of a place in Harry’s heart to be permanently inked on the other man’s skin as well.

“Mmm… feels good… don’t stop…” Harry pleaded sleepily, shifting closer to Draco so the other man would continue touching him.

Smiling Draco pressed a bit harder as he continued exploring the skin of Harry’s back. “I didn’t mean to wake you up mon coeur, are you sure you want me to keep going?”

Harry lifted his head far enough to pout at Draco, before flopping back down. “The only reason I’d want you to stop touching my back is if you were touching somewhere else.” He mumbled, his voice muffled by the pillows obscuring his face.

“Well if you weren’t lying on it I would happily give that some attention,” Draco smirked and poked Harry’s ribs lightly.

Getting his elbows under him Harry pushed himself up to properly look at Draco curiously. "Is that where we are now?"

Draco gave Harry a cautious smile in return as he reached out a hand to trail his fingers down Harry's jaw. "I've wanted to be there for a while now but I didn't want to rush you. I wasn't sure if we were on the same page but Harry, I'm crazy about you and have been for years. I could easily see this being something long term if you want it to go there but I don’t want to push for something you aren’t ready to give."

Unable to find the words to express what he was thinking, Harry fell onto his back and tugged Draco with him, capturing his lips in a heated kiss as they toppled back. When they broke apart for air Harry looked up at Draco with a wide grin. "Is it too soon to say that I think I'm in love with you?"

"It's only too soon for you to say that if it's too soon for me to admit that I have loved you since that first Ministry gala that put us in the same space together. I had a crush on you through our last year at Hogwarts and seeing you again in that light dressed properly just about made my heart stop. I knew in that moment that I was lost with no hope of finding my way back."

"I love you Draco," Harry whispered then leaned up to give the other man a tender kiss.

After a moment Draco pulled back from the kiss and leaned his forehead against Harry's, "and I love you, Harry."

The pair were laying there basking in the moment and trying to calm their racing hearts when Draco's alarm went off letting them know it was time to start getting ready to go meet Sirius and Remus.at the shop.

Draco glared at the alarm and wandlessly shut it off before turning back to Harry with a laugh, "well that puts an end to the idea of doing anything this morning." 

"Unfortunately it does," Harry agreed with a playful pout. "What do you say we go out for dinner in muggle Dublin after I finish Sirius' tattoo, like on a proper date, then come home and a have a good night in?"

Giving Harry one more quick kiss Draco rolled out of the bed and padded off to the bathroom. After he turned the water on to take a shower Draco leaned back out the door to grin at Harry. "I would love to go on a proper date with you in the muggle world." He agreed as he disappeared back into the bathroom to get himself ready.

As Draco vanished from sight Harry flopped back on the bed grinning, he wasn't sure how it happened but he felt like he was finally where he belonged. As he was running over the last couple weeks in his head he heard Draco calling his name from the bathroom.

"Are you too shy to take a shower with me or what?" Draco teased as his sleep pants came flying out of the door to land on the bed next to Harry.

Harry didn't bother replying, instead shuffling off the bed and pulling off his own sleep pants as he hopped into the bathroom. "Not shy at all, just trying to figure out how I can be this happy with someone I swore in my first year I would hate forever." He laughed as he pulled open the glass shower door and stepped into the steam behind Draco. 

Spinning around to face Harry Draco leaned down and kissed the other man hard enough to nearly make his knees buckle. "You are this happy because you deserve it, and fate usually knows what she's doing."

"Mhm whatever you say." Harry murmured against his lips, reaching up to tangle his fingers in Draco's hair to pull him in for another kiss. As Draco gasped into the kiss Harry freed one hand from the other man's platinum locks in favor of wrapping it around his prick. "I know we don't have time for any of the fun stuff but we have time for this right?"

"Oh Merlin yes!" Draco gasped as his head fell back into the spray "Please… don't stop now, if you do I might hex you."

Harry grinned as he sped up his motions, adding a twist of his wrist at the top of his stroke in a way that he knew made him see stars behind his eyelids when he did it to himself and apparently did the same to Draco judging by the strangled moan that fell out of the other man's lips.

Blindly Draco reached out and wrapped his hand around Harry's prick in return, matching his partners rhythm and motions. Within minutes both of them were nearing the edge and with one more hard kiss Draco toppled over first. Catching some of his own cum Draco switched hands and quickly pulled Harry over the edge behind him.

As his orgasm drained out of him Harry leaned back against the wall of the shower panting as the world came back into focus. Shooting Draco a wry grin Harry bit back a laugh. "If a quick handjob in the shower is that amazing I can't wait for tonight. You might well knock me out if this was anything to go by."

"Hmm I think you are going to be the one doing the knocking out mon coeur." Draco teased as he stepped back out of the spray and started lathering shampoo into his hair. "But enough talking about that or we will definitely be late to meet Sirius and Remus." As he finished speaking he offered Harry the shampoo.

Harry offered Draco his thanks and a grin as he took the shampoo and hurried through his own washing. Fifteen minutes and ample drying and styling charms later the pair shared one more quick kiss then darted through the floo and setting foot in Ládreacht just moments before Sirius and Remus appeared.

"I come bearing homemade scones!" Sirius declared proudly as he held out a muggle tupperwear container. 

Remus laughed as he dusted himself off, "he was so excited to get a tattoo today he couldn't sleep so he stayed up way too late baking and fell asleep at the kitchen table."

Draco took the offered box with a laugh and gestured for the other two to follow him into the back of the shop. "It must be a Black family trait, I remember many nights where my mum chased the house elves out of the kitchen to bake if we were expecting any of Lucius’ family the next day. I learned to bake from her and we would practice in the summers when I was home from Hogwarts before the war got going my fourth year."

"Definitely a Black family trait but it doesn't move through the family linearly. I picked it up from uncle Alphard and I think your mum did too." Sirius agreed with a laugh, taking a seat on the couch Draco gestured towards.

Setting the box of scones on the table he and Harry had shared lunch at both times he had been in the shop Draco took a seat on the fluffy ottoman next to the couch. "Mum talked about Alphard quite a bit, I'm sad I never got to meet him."

Remus set the coffee's he was carrying on the table next to the scones as he sat down and turned to Draco. "Alphard was one of the few Black's I ever met that I could actually stand. Your aunt Andromeda was another, and I think if she's anything like her sister I could get on quite well with your mum if I ever got a chance to meet her." He declared as he held out a coffee to Draco as a peace offering.

"Mum is so much better without Lucius. I don't think she will ever forgive him for what he dragged me and her into during the war. She's told me she wasn't sure I would survive the war because of his actions." Draco said quietly as he accepted the coffee Remus held out to him. "I'm not positive she feels the same but I know I am happy he is never going to see the light of day again as a free man."

Sirius leaned over and gave Draco a quick hug, unsure of his boundaries but wanting to let the other man know he was there for him. "A lot of us worried that people we loved wouldn't make it out of the war but that is in the past and we all have a very bright future in front of us."

Smiling Draco returned the hug, not letting Sirius escape to his seat next to Remus. "I would love to have all three of you over to the flat for dinner. I think it's time to try and bring the Black family together and put the past where it belongs."

"I would like that." Sirius agreed when Draco released him then before he could sit back down Harry called out that he was ready for Sirius to join him in the center of the shop. 

"So I didn't have a ton of time but this is what I drew for you, I used the picture you gave me of my dad as Prongs to sketch the antlers and I free handed the lilies around the base. Do you like it?" Harry asked, trying not to ramble nervously as he looked at his godfather for approval.

Sirius stared at the drawing stunned as he tried to find the words to express what was going through his mind. Finally swallowed hard and cleared his throat so he could speak. "I love it Harry, it's absolutely beautiful."

"I am so glad you do, take your shirt off so we will can get it positioned and get started." Harry said sounding relieved as he cast the spells on the paper to turn it into a transferable outline.

Once Harry had placed the outline and gotten Sirius' approval Remus wandered over to look at the tattoo, his breath catching in his throat when he saw the antlers Harry had drawn. “Those are Prongs’ antlers. I haven’t seen those in years.”

“After we left last night we came here so I could find the picture you gave me of Padfoot and Prongs sleeping together after a full moon. I wanted to be sure this tattoo was perfect seeing as who it’s going on.” Harry said with a smile as he tugged on clean gloves and murmured the charm to turn on his tattoo machine.

Remus leaned down and pressed a rare kiss to the top of Harry’s head then excused himself to go sit with Draco to discuss the law the young man had mentioned the night before.

Harry watched Remus walk away with a bemused smile, not used to adults showing open affection. Shaking his head he turned back to Sirius, “so are you ready for the pain that is a back tattoo?”

“Please, it can’t be that bad. Remember I’ve sat through getting my calf tattooed and handled that just fine.” Sirius smirked back as he shifted a bit to get more comfortable before Harry began.

With a snort Harry set the needle to Sirius’ skin and started following the first line of the base of the antlers. “My back tattoo was the only one that nearly made me tap out from the pain.”

Sirius hissed as he felt the drag of the needle along his back. “Alright yeah, that hurts a bit. But it’s nothing like the pain of thinking I lost everyone I loved in one night.”

“That’s how I always felt when I was getting mine. They hurt plenty physically but after everything else I’d gone through that little bit of pain was nothing in comparison.” Harry agreed as he continued working on the antlers, lapsing into a comfortable silence while he worked on inking his father’s antlers into his godfather’s back.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Remus and Draco were leaning close together talking rapidly about the sanctuary law Draco was backing in the Ministry. “So you are saying I should push for an addendum stating that anyone who comes to us for assistance will not be outed and or persecuted for simply being a werewolf?

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. The problem with the old law is that anyone who registered under that law was publicly announced as a werewolf and many of them were hunted down. Even this many years after it’s been struck from the books there are people who are still feeling backlash from it’s consequences.”

Draco was nodding and scratching notes hurriedly on a parchment he had snatched from Harry’s desk a few moments before. “That makes sense, I remember how you looked third year. No member of our society should be in a position where they can’t find work, especially considering how small of a society we are.” Draco murmured, the statement partially directed at Remus but mostly was him thinking aloud.

Across from Remus Draco scribbled his thoughts nearly as fast as they developed in his mind. When Remus had first met the son of Lucius Malfoy, he'd never imagined he'd grow up into a man more than willing to fight for the very people he'd been taught were below his notice. The parallels between Sirius and Draco ran deeper than just the Black blood they shared - both rose through they prejudice they were raised in, and both used their fortunes and names to better the same world their ancestors tried to destroy. As he sat there thinking about it Remus realized that Harry could not have found a better mate than Draco.

“Professor?” 

Remus started out of his thoughts, looking curiously at the young man. “I haven’t been your professor for many years Draco, you are more than welcome to call me Remus.”

“Yes I know but you were thinking so hard you weren’t responding to Remus so I decided to try something else,” Draco smirked before passing the parchment he had been scribbling away on to Remus. “What do you think of this outline for the proposal?” 

Taking the paper Remus quickly read over it his eyebrows raising closer to his hairline with every line. “Draco I thought you said you needed my help with a law not an entire charity including a safehouse for new werewolves.”

Draco shrugged and avoided meeting Remus’ gaze. His plans had originally started out as a law that was true but last night he and Harry had been talking about it and he had realized that a sanctuary was the perfect thing to do with the unused land the Manor had previously been sitting on. So together the pair of them had started planning on how to expand off of the law into a full-fledged sanctuary for werewolves fully backed by the laws Draco was sponsoring through the Ministry.

Before Remus could push any further Harry walked over to join them. “Sirius needed a second and I heard you guys stop talking so I wanted to make sure everything was going alright?”

“Everything is brilliant, Draco just told me about the plans he has to start a sanctuary for werewolves,” Remus said softly, the admiration he was feeling evident in his voice.

Harry wrapped an arm around Draco’s shoulders in a tight hug. “Yeah, he talked to me about doing that last night and I agreed having a safe place in Wizarding Britain for werewolves would go a long way towards making them more accepted in society.”

“Don’t let Harry fool you, it was mostly his idea. I just agreed that it would be a good use for the grounds the Manor used to stand on.” Draco mumbled, obviously uncomfortable with the praise for doing. “And since it has come up, we were wondering if you would like to be on the board for the organization from the start?”

Swallowing hard Remus nodded, honored that they would even ask him such a thing. Despite all the two young men in front of them had already done to change the world apparently they weren’t done yet.

Harry gave his honorary godfather a beaming smile and leaned over to give him a big hug. “Well then, welcome aboard the board of Regulus House.”

“Regulus House?” Sirius piped up, joining the group now that he had collected himself a bit.

“A new charity Draco and Harry are starting to benefit werewolves in Wizarding Britain,” Remus said softly, still slightly overwhelmed at the fact that Harry and Draco were starting a charity to help people like him.

Draco looked nervously at Sirius, “you don’t mind do you? I wanted something to tie it to the Black family name that wasn’t as egotistical as using my own name.”

“Of course I don’t mind, and I don’t think Reg would mind either. Anything to stick it to dear old mum after all.” Sirius grinned, “Harry I was just coming over to tell you I’m ready to continue if you are?”

Giving the pair in front of him one last smile Harry nodded before walking over to wash his hands and reglove to continue working on his godfather’s tattoo. Over the next four hours the shop was filled with the sounds of quiet chatter and the hum of the tattoo machine as they worked on their separate projects. 

Finally Harry set down the machine and gave Sirius’ back one more wipe with the rag in his hand. “Well I think this is done for now, I’ll check it for touch-ups in a couple weeks after it’s had a chance to heal up some. Go take a look in the mirror and see what you think.”

Blinking back to alertness Sirius stood and stretched then made his way over to the mirrors set up on the wall to inspect the work Harry had done on his back. As he took in what Harry had done he felt his throat clog up with emotion. 

“I hope you don’t mind I added something to the design after I showed it to you.” Harry said softly as he stepped stepped up next to Sirius. “You told me you wanted this to be a memorial tattoo and I know you finally came to terms with what your brother did and why he did it and this just seemed right considering mum’s journals make it seem like the three of them were together briefly prior to Regulus joining the death eaters.”

Sirius swallowed hard trying to keep the tears he felt welling up in his eyes from falling. Between the points of the antlers, above the lilies scattered around the base, Harry had added the Leo constellation and spelled it to appear as if it were twinkling like real stars. As he felt himself start to lose the fight with his tears Sirius reached out and pulled Harry into a bone-crushing hug, “I love it… it’s absolutely perfect.” 

Remus was halfway across the shop to look at Sirius’ new tattoo when he saw his husband pull Harry into a tight hug. Deciding the pair in front of him needed a moment he turned back toward Draco and nodded to the front of the shop before quietly slipping out of the room.

With a quick glance at the other pair in the room Draco nodded and followed Remus out to the entry hall of the shop. “I figured that would be an emotional tattoo for Sirius. Did you see the extra bit Harry added to the design?”

“No, I only saw the antlers and lilies that Harry had on the original outline. What else was there in the design?” Remus asked curiously as he leaned against the counter to wait for the other two to come out and find them. 

“Harry added the Leo constellation between the antlers over the lilies and he was going to charm the Alpha Leonis start to twinkle green and silver for Regulus,” Draco explained smiling fondly. “Apparently he read something she wrote in her diary that made him realize the three of them had dated briefly at Hogwarts.”

Remus smiled sadly as memories washed over him. “Yes, those three were incredibly close our sixth year but then everything went haywire between sixth and seventh year. We were all quite shocked when Reg came back to Hogwarts with a dark mark at the start of his sixth year; our seventh, he and Sirius actually got in quite a large fight because of it and didn’t speak for most of that year. For years Sirius blamed himself for Reg’s death, he felt like if he had made Reg leave Grimmauld place with him that summer then he wouldn’t have been recruited into the death eaters and as such he wouldn’t have died trying to get out.”

After hesitating for the briefest of moments Draco stepped forward and pulled the older man into a hug, sensing he could use the comfort of someone elses touch. “As someone who was also brought into the ranks at sixteen I can say with certainty that nothing Sirius could have done could have saved Regulus from being initiated.”

On instinct Remus returned the hug, wrapping his arms tightly around Draco. “It hurts my heart how similar your story is to Reg’s but at the same time I am happy to see that your story got it’s happy ending.”

Draco and Remus were so wrapped up in their moment they missed the door opening and Harry and Sirius stepping out until they joined in the hug. The small family stood taking comfort in each other for a moment before Sirius stepped away first.

“Alright, now that we have all been more than a bit sappy today what do you say we go get a late lunch before we go our separate ways? Harry told me you guys are going out on a proper date later tonight but it’s just going on two and none of us have really eaten today aside from a couple scones. And I want to hear more about how Regulus House could work with the foundation me and Remus started a couple years ago.”

As he opened his mouth to reply Draco was cut off by his stomach growling quite loudly. “Well, I think that answers your question, where would you like to go?”

Harry laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “I was planning on taking you to an Indian place tonight so anything other that sounds good to me.”

“What about Chinese? I found this great place in muggle London that does the best egg foo young.” Remus piped up excitedly.

The younger couple shared a look to confirm then both nodded their agreement.

“Chinese it is then!” I know the place Remus is talking about, we can all floo to Grimmauld then walk over from there.” Sirius declared, already walking towards the fireplace and stepping through with Remus right on his heels.

Harry grinned and gestured for Draco to go through the fireplace first. “Easier for you to get out of the way if I go through last.”

Trying not to laugh at his boyfriends expense Draco nodded and gave Harry a quick kiss before ducking through the fireplace after Sirius and Remus. As he was exited the floo on the other side he quickly dodged to the side to make way for Harry’s typically extravagant entrance. He really did need to remember to explain to his partner how to use a floo in a way that wasn’t akin to the muggle slip and slides he had seen in the park. But for today he was going to relax and enjoy lunch with his new surrogate uncles before going out on a proper date later that night with Harry.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco go out on their first real date and things get a bit heated after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don't think I'm actually going to wrap this for Camp NaNo but I'm still plugging along. If I'm right this will have about four more chapter (I still can't believe how much this ran away from me!)

With a frustrated huff, Harry dropped his brush onto the counter, he knew it was pointless trying to tame his hair but he had hoped it would behave at least a little bit for his first proper date with Draco. With one last glare at his reflection he turned and left the bathroom to wait for Draco, since it was their first date they had decided to be corny and Draco was picking Harry up at his shop before they apparated into muggled Dublin to go to the Indian restaurant Harry had picked out. Just as Harry walked through the door of his shop the fireplace lit up green and Draco gracefully stepped out of the flames.

“Remember what I said about seeing you dressed proper at the Ministry gala making me fall in love with you? Yeah, muggle slacks are even better.” Draco said by way of greeting. “You look absolutely stunning, Harry.”

Harry fought back the flush he felt creeping up his cheeks at Draco’s words and tone. “I’m sure no matter how good I look it’s nothing compared to how radiant you are, green really does suit you.”

“Well of course, if it didn’t I would have been asked to be put in Ravenclaw. After all, you can’t go around all day for seven years wearing colors that don’t suit you.” Draco drawled, trying to find his self-assured confidence again after feeling so thrown off by the sight of his partner all dressed up in muggle clothes.

Shaking his head laughing Harry stepped forward and closed the gap between them to give Draco a kiss hello which quickly started to morph into a full-on snogging session. As he pulled away looking slightly more mussed than he had a few minutes before Harry gave Draco a wry smile, “if I had known you were going to look so amazing I might have suggested we order in instead.”

Draco smirked back at Harry, “while I appreciate the sentiment I quite enjoy the idea of showing the world that we are together.”

At Draco’s words, Harry’s face fell a bit as worry started to creep in. “Does it bother you that I don’t want to take you out in the wizarding world?”

“Merlin no!” Draco exclaimed, pulling Harry in close for a reassuring hug. “I don’t go into public in the wizarding world much anymore myself, everyone either fawns over me for what I’ve done since the war or tries to be subtle about quickly hurrying in the other direction because they are scared of the dark mark on my arm and what it represented.”

“Well, they are idiots if they can’t see that you are so much more than those two things,” Harry mumbled into Draco’s neck.

“I don’t care what they see, the only person whose opinion I care about is in my arms right now.”

Harry paused to collect himself for a moment before stepping back and smiling up at Draco. “I love you, Dray. I don’t know how we got to where we are from where we started but I’m glad we did.”

Leaning forward Draco pressed a tender kiss to Harry’s lips before pulling back to smile at him. “I love you too Harry, I’m thrilled we got where we are too. Now, let’s go get dinner then I’m going to take you back to our flat and show you exactly how happy you make me.” Draco suggested, holding out his hand for Harry to take it and whisk them away.

With a wide grin Harry took Draco’s hand to apparate them into the alley next to the restaurant Harry picked out for dinner. Once the world stopped spinning Harry tugged the hand he was still clutching onto and led Draco out of the alley towards the small hole in the wall Indian restaurant he had discovered a few months after he first returned.

Draco looked around the small establishment Harry had led him into taking in homey decorations and warm lighting of the small establishment. It was done in the warm reds and oranges that were typical of the region the cuisine originated from, each of the dozen or so tables scattered around the room lit with candles to give a more intimate atmosphere. After a few moments a hostess appeared and lead them to a small room in the back closed off with a curtain to give them privacy.

“Hello Sari, how are you tonight? Harry asked as they followed her through the restaurant.

"I’m doing well tonight, thank you, Harry. Now, you said when you called to reserve the room that you would like your usual poppadoms with mango chutney, lime pickle, and dal to start. Is that still what you'd like Mr. Potter?" The hostess asked with a smile as she poured them both a cup of chai from the pot that had been waiting on the table.

"Yes, please, Sari." Harry said with a smile as he accepted the offered cup. "Mr. Malfoy will need a minute to look over the menu to decide which curry and side he would like for his main course so that should be plenty to start with."

Sari smiled easily at the boys and gave them a small bow before slipping back through the curtain to go collect their starters while they were looking over the menu.

After a couple minutes Draco set his menu down and looked up at Harry. "I think I'm going to try the chicken tikka curry, the menu says it's mild so it should be safe."

Harry grinned, “you’re smarter than me. The first time I came here I ordered the balti because I thought it sounded good, my tongue was very quick to inform me that I was wrong on and then my body reinforced the message the next day.”

When Sari stepped back through the curtain carrying their starter a few moments later Draco was still trying to suppress his laugh at his boyfriend's distress. By the time Sari had set down the plates and taken their curry and side orders Draco had collected himself enough to speak.

“So even the medium spicy is exceptionally spicy, got it.” Draco smirked, still obviously amused at Harry’s suffering. “I’ve had curry before on one of the many business trips my father used to take us along because according to him a proper Malfoy heir should be experienced in the ways of the world. If my mother hadn’t warned me first I could have very easily made the same mistake you did.”

Harry playfully stuck his tongue out at Draco before taking one of the poppadoms and breaking a piece off to dip it gingerly into the lime pickle sauce, barely getting enough to taste on the corner of the bread before he popped it into his mouth.

Shaking his head at Harry’s behavior Draco took a poppadom of his own and followed Harry’s lead; breaking it into smaller pieces then dipping it in the same sauce his partner had but lacking the same caution, coating the bread in the thick sauce. As Harry watched with a bemused smile Draco put the whole bite in his mouth and his eyes immediately widened as the spice overwhelmed him.

With a snort, Harry passed Draco one of the glasses of milk Draco hadn’t noticed sitting on the edge of the table and instructed him to sip it slowly to calm the burning in his mouth. “Now do you see why I barely took any? I love that sauce but only in small doses.”

“You could have warned me!” Draco pouted between sips of milk and bites of plain bread. “Bloody hell that wasn’t nice.”

Still snickering Harry raised his hands defensively. “Well, you told me you had eaten Indian food before and you saw me go slow with it so I figured you knew what you were doing.”

Draco was still pouting when Sari appeared a few moments later laden down with their curries, rice, and sides.

“Chicken tikka for your date and chicken korma for you Mr. Potter.” Sari explained as she set down the plates in front of them. “And here is the bombay aloo, jasmine rice, and a plate of na’an to share. Was there anything else I could get you?”

“No Sari, this is lovely thank you.”

With one more nod and bow, Sari excused herself and left the boys to tuck into their food while they talked about the various places they had both traveled to over the years. While they worked their way through the small mountain on the table they realized they may have been in each other’s lives for nearly two decades but they really didn’t know each other that well. As the plates of curry and rice disappeared they discovered how much they truly had in common once the layers of Hogwarts and blood status were stripped away; they realized that they both had a love of cheesy muggle comedies, they both preferred to cook everything they could from scratch because they found it soothing, and much to their amusement they realized that they both used far too much sugar in their coffee by most people's standards. All in all, they had decided they were perfectly matched by the time the plates were cleared.

Once the check was paid Draco stood up and offered his hand to Harry with a cheeky smile. “Would you like to come home with me tonight Harry? I do believe Winky told me she was planning on baking a black forest gateau today and I have it on good authority that you are quite fond of all things chocolate.”

Harry took the offered hand with a grin to rival Draco’s, “I would love to go back home with you Dray. And not just because of the chocolate, though that does add another layer of desire.” He replied as he stood and followed Draco out of the restaurant back to the apparation point. Within minutes they had landed in the living room of Draco’s flat, Harry clutching onto Draco trying not to fall over as they landed already caught up in a heated kiss.

“Cake first? or would you like to finish what we started when you shoved me against that wall in the alley?” Draco purred as he broke off the kiss to tug at Harry’s shirt, freeing it from his pants and then quickly pulled it over Harry’s head.

“Bed first, I’ve wanted this all day. I’ve wanted you all day.” Harry panted, his fingers quickly working the buttons loose then pushing the shirt from Draco’s shoulders so he could feel the other man’s skin under his fingertips.

Draco gasped as Harry’s questing fingers found their mark, leaving trails of fire in their wake. Choosing to forgo any further conversation Draco tugged Harry along to the bedroom by the waistband of his trousers. When the door was shut behind them Draco quickly released Harry’s fly and shoved his trousers and pants his hips off of the then pushed him towards the bed before ridding himself of his own bottoms. “Merlin Harry, you’re breathtaking to look at. Like I thought you were something in those slacks but naked is even more awe-inspiring.” Draco murmured as he joined his partner on the bed, leaning forward to capture Harry’s lips in another heated kiss.

“I’m nothing next to you.” Harry whispered, feeling like he was going to explode from the sensations Draco was causing to dance under his skin.

“Nothing? If the sun is nothing next to the moon then yes you are nothing.” Draco countered, leaning down to trail open-mouthed kisses down Harry’s neck, pausing each time Harry keened to mark the spot with his teeth before he continued exploring. “You are everything that is golden and warm while I am everything cold and silver.” Draco whispered between kisses. “You are my perfect match, the balance to everything I am.”

Harry was too caught up in the passion of the moment to properly respond, his body burning like fiendfyre was racing down every nerve. “Please… _Dray_ … love me… _**please**_ …”

“I do love you, and I plan on showing you exactly how much.” Draco promised as he held out a hand to wandlessly summon the lube from the bedside table. “Do you want me on top or would you rather be on top?”

Capturing the Draco’s lips with his own Harry shifted so he was fully underneath the other man. “I want you to be my first.” He practically begged, arching against Draco with a moan.

Draco nodded and opened the lube to squeeze some onto his fingers, he would let himself explore the implications of what Harry had later when he didn’t have the golden-skinned man writhing underneath him. “Tell me if it is too much okay.” Draco asked of Harry as he resumed kissing his way down Harry’s torso, pausing to look up at Harry through his eyelashes just short of taking the other man’s prick into his mouth.

“I will,” Harry agreed on an exhale, already trembling at the promises Draco’s body was making.

Without further ado, Draco pressed one finger against Harry’s hole as his mouth swallowed Harry’s prick in one smooth motion. As he learned the weight and taste of Harry’s prick with his mouth his finger easily found the spot that drew a keening cry from Harry’s mouth. After a few moments, and a second finger, Draco decided neither of them could wait any longer and pulled back to slick his prick before lining up at Harry’s entrance. “Last chance to tell me you don’t want this. Say the word and I will walk away now and you can go back to your flat over your shop and we can pretend this never happened.”

“I love you Draco, I have for quite a long time. I want this, I want you.” Harry panted, arching towards his lover.

Taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart Draco slowly pressed forward and sheathed himself in Harry's arse. Once he was in as far as he could go Draco stilled to give them both time to adjust to the way being so intimately connected felt.

After a few moments Harry nodded at Draco, "I'm alright. You can start moving now." He urged as his hands came up to clutch at Draco's hip, pleading for him to move.

Draco leaned forward to catch Harry's lips in a tender kiss before he started shallowly thrusting his hips, barely pulling out before he pressed back in trying to find the bundle of nerves that he knew would make Harry see double. He knew he had found his mark when Harry let out a keening cry and the fingers that were resting on the swell of his arse turned into claws dragging him in deeper.

"Whatever you just did, do it again." Harry pleaded, writhing under Draco trying to recreate the sensation.

"What? This?" Draco teased thrusting harder than he had previously, lifting Harry's hips up off the bed slightly. "Is that what you want mon couer?"

Harry's only response was a breathless moan as his eyes rolled back in his head. If he had been doused in fiendfyre before then he could not begin to describe what he was feeling now, alive in a way he had never been before.

Before Harry could recover his senses enough to speak Draco wrapped the hand that was still coated with lube around Harry's prick and started stroking in time with his thrusts. "Come for me, let me feel you let go." He coaxed, already knowing that neither of them would be able to last very long after the way tension had been building between them all day, nearly coming to a head in the alley behind the restaurant.

With the way Draco was touching him it was all Harry could do to remember to breathe, even if he wanted to he wouldn't have been able to hold back the orgasm Draco was wringing out of him. Between one breath and the next his release rippled through him and shattered his world until all he knew was the feeling of Draco surrounding him.

Draco stilled as he saw Harry falling apart under him, unable to move against the way Harry was clenching around him. As the contractions around his prick slowed Draco gave in and let his own orgasm overtake him, climaxing so hard he saw white behind his eyes. Once the earth stopped spinning Draco collapsed next to Harry with a shaky breath.

"Can I say wow? or is that too much of an understatement?" Harry asked with a breathless laugh.

"Wow works. That's about all my brain can come up with as well." Draco agreed with a laugh. "It's never felt like that before, with you it just feels right."

Harry rolled over to look at Draco with a dopey smile. "I love you, Dray."

Leaning up Draco caught Harry's lips in a soft kiss, "I love you too Harry. There aren’t words to describe exactly how much.”

With a contented sigh, Harry shifted so he could lay with his head on Draco’s chest and listen to the other man’s heartbeat while his own settled, the hand not pinned between their bodies tracing random patterns on the other man’s stomach.

Draco smiled lovingly at Harry as he wrapped his arm around his lover and started absentmindedly scratching his back. For a few moments the pair lay there basking in each other’s presence, letting their heartbeat’s and breaths fill the silence. Eventually, Draco’s voice broke the silence, “so I was your first?”

“First what? First love? First time having sex? If it’s either of those then the answer is yes.” Harry mumbled quietly, feeling more exposed now than he had when Draco was staring at him spread naked on the bed earlier.

“If you don’t want to answer I’ll understand but I have to ask, what about Ginny?” Draco pried, wrapping his arm even tighter around Harry reassuringly as his free hand came up to rest on the one that had still on his stomach.

Harry let out a much darker sigh than the one that had escaped him earlier as he nuzzled closer to Draco, taking the offered reassurance. “Ginny was everything I was supposed to want after the war, she was supposed to be my fairytale ending. I tried to convince myself I loved her but then I saw how Sirius looks at Remus when Remus isn’t looking and I realized I didn’t even feel a tenth of what they did for each other towards Ginny. So I used the hunt I went on seventh year as an excuse and ended things, thinking that maybe things would be different after the war was over and I wasn’t the boy who lived anymore.”

“Then you came back and won the war, becoming the saviour instead. And she was still fawning over you like some hero instead of letting you move on with your life.” Draco filled in the rest, having witnessed the aftermath when they had both returned to Hogwarts for a makeshift 8th year. Ginny had spent most of that year clinging to Harry’s arm like she had won a trophy instead of supporting him and helping keep people away. “So, I get not sleeping with anyone in London before you left but what about the time while you were in San Francisco?”

Taking a deep breath Harry leaned back far enough to look Draco in the face. “Because by the time I landed in San Francisco I knew it was you. I was still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that I liked men but I knew in my very soul that I loved you and wanted to be with you. So I decided to wait and get right with myself before I tried to move on. Then Erik, the man who taught me how to tattoo, died of AIDs and I realized I couldn’t run forever so I came back.”

“Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me that.” Draco said softly after a few heartbeats of silence, this moment seeming far more intimate than the way their bodies had been tangled together a mere half hour before. “Just so you know it was always you for me too. Sure I went on a few dates, always with golden skinned dark haired men but I could never let them in enough to let them have my body. Deep down inside I always held on to the hope that you would come back for me.”

Harry kissed Draco’s jaw tenderly before snuggling back down against his chest. “Now we both know my reasoning, but why didn’t you say anything before I left? We were close enough by the time I caught the portkey to New York that you could have had multiple opportunities to talk to me about it.”

“Because even six years after the war you were the saviour and I was a death eater, I never thought I had a chance.” Draco admitted quietly, his hold on Harry subtly changing from reassuring to desperate. “When I woke up this morning with you in my bed I thought I was dreaming again.”

“It’s not a dream Dray. It’s an absolute whirlwind that I’m sure would make the Prophet start printing rumors about love potions but it’s real and it’s us and I’m not going anywhere okay?”

Draco nodded quietly, still clinging to Harry as silence washed back over them while they both processed everything that had come to light in the clarity that really good sex leaves in its wake. Shaking himself out of the funk that was settling over him Draco nudged Harry’s shoulder to make his lover look at him. “Ready to have Winky bring us a plate of that black forest gateau and we can share it in bed while we watch Monty Python?"

"Only if we are allowed to quote along with the movie." Harry bargained, already rolling out of bed to go into the loo to clean up a bit.

Draco smiled as he watched Harry gingerly walk into the bathroom before he summoned Winky and asked her to bring a large portion of cake and two glasses of milk on a tray. After the elf had disappeared to fetch the requested items Draco got up as well to grab pyjama pants for both him and Harry and set up the movie on the TV in the corner.

By the time Harry emerged the cake was sitting on a tray in the middle of the bed and Draco was lounging against the headboard fiddling with the remote. Spotting the pants Draco had laid out for him Harry quickly tugged them on before scrambling up into bed next to Draco and grabbing the cake. "Ready to start the movie?"

"I am if you are." Draco agreed, helping himself to a bite of the sugary concoction Harry looked nearly ready to hoard for himself. "And that cake is amazing, remind me to thank Winky later."

Harry grinned at Draco and relaxed his hold on the cake a bit before taking a bite for himself, nearly losing a cherry off the top onto his chest in his hurry to get the bite in his mouth.

Giggling at his boyfriend's antics Draco hit play on the movie before reaching over and snagging a cherry for himself. As the opening credits rolled Draco put on an over the top Swedish accent to act out the story of the moose biting his sister which nearly made Harry cry laughing.

"Are you even reading the subtitles?" Harry asked between gasps of laughter.

Draco shook his head, Harry’s laughter was contagious and he was now laughing too hard to finish what he had started or even speak.

Smirking cheekily Harry popped another bite of cake in his mouth right as the first Bring out your dead! rang through the room. By the time French had finished taunting Arthur and his knights most of the cake had been demolished by the two young men and Harry was sipping on his glass of milk to wash it down between outbursts of quotes from the movie.

“So,” Harry exhaled from where he had landed on the floor a few minutes before after Draco had landed a particularly well-placed poke to his ribs combined with a louder than expected _Ni_! and startled him off the bed, “is it me or does Tim the Enchanter look like a younger Sir Nicholas?”

Draco leaned over the edge of the bed to look down at Harry, his eyes bright with mirth and suppressed laughter at the fact that he had managed to startle his boyfriend off the bed. “He really does, next time I’m at Hogwarts to speak with Poppy about the potions stocks I may have to ask him if he had a muggle relative go into acting.”

Flopping back onto the floor Harry clutched his sides cackling again at the idea of asking Sir Nicholas about Monty Python actors. “If you do I want to see the pensieve memory! I can just picture the ruffle around his neck quivering like it did the time Hermione asked him why it mattered if he joined the Headless Hunt.”

“Just for that image I will make sure it is done.” Draco promised with a grin as he held out his hand to help Harry back onto the bed. “Now come on, I want to watch Wonka again before we go to sleep. I still think he had to be a wizard to do what he did.”

Harry took a breath to calm himself before he took the offered hand and let Draco help him upright so he could join his partner on the bed. “I already agreed to that point, remember? We had moved on to arguing about the oompa loompa’s and how many there were.”

With a laugh, Draco nudged Harry until the other man got the hint and leaned up against the headboard and held his arms out for Draco to lay against his chest.

“While this is very comfortable and all, you do realize you didn’t change out the movie right Dray?”

“Fuck. Of course our wands are both in the living room too and I don’t want to get up.” Draco grumbled before rolling out of bed with an exaggerated sigh to go change out the movies. Once everything was set up again he returned to his position in Harry’s arms and clicked the button on the remote to start the movie as he suppressed a yawn. Today had been an emotional rollercoaster with a lot of revelations and change in his relationship with Harry, everything was starting to catch up to him.

Harry noticed Draco fight back a yawn and leaned down to press a kiss to Draco’s hair. “I love you Dray, fall asleep if you want. I’ll still be here in the morning, I promise.”

“Love you too Harry.” Draco replied, his voice already sounding heavier with sleep as the opening credits rolled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always reviews are appreciated and you can find me at [ My tumblr ](http://irishwolf-and-slytherinstar.tumblr.com/) ♥


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry tries to talk to Hermione and it goes about as well as expected. Before the pair can contemplate too much about what Hermione might do when she doesn't get her way Remus and Sirius appear for Remus' tattoo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So so so sorry for the long hiatus. I've had two long trips and then the holiday and yeah, life got the better of me. But as penance for my sins I've got two chapters ready to go, this one and then 8 is at my amazing beta JenCala!

The following Monday Harry was lying in Draco's bed listening to him get ready for the day while he ranted about the client he was going to be meeting while Harry was talking to Hermione.

"Harry have you even heard a word I've said?" Draco asked as he turned around tugging his tie into place.

"You were rambling about why you hated that you had agreed to work with Mr. Boffin because he won't listen to you and thinks you are trying to poison him instead of cure him." Harry replied easily before rolling out of bed to go take his turn in the shower. "And honestly, if one of my clients was that difficult I'd be escorting them out of the shop."

Draco snorted as he watched a naked Harry saunter past him into the bathroom. "If only I could, unfortunately I was contracted through St Mungos for this case specifically because of how difficult Boffin is. Luckily, I think the team of healers I've been working with has found the core issue so I can finalize his potion and get him off my client list."

After he turned the water on Harry leaned against the door frame to wait for it to heat back up to a comfortable temperature. "Well that's good news at least. Hopefully my day goes as good as yours is shaping up to be, but I have a feeling this meeting with Hermione is going to be a disaster of nearly Peeves proportions.”

“Harry no matter how upset she is at you, Hermione is still your friend. I’m sure she’ll scream and yell a bit but in the end everything will probably work out for the best.” Draco reassured as he contemplated the tie for another moment before deciding to go slightly more casual and yanking it off and chucking it on the bed.

Shrugging noncommittally, Harry spun around and stepped into the now steaming shower and let the water wash over him. He really hoped Draco was right, but he wasn’t going to hold his breath. He had spent a lot of time while he was in San Francisco thinking about his friendship with Hermione and Ron and he had come to the conclusion that if they were to no longer be friends for some reason then it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. That wasn’t to say he didn’t treasure their friendship, but at this point it had begun to feel like something he held onto because it was the first good thing he had known when he left the Dursley’s and not because it was truly healthy for him. So maybe, at twenty six years old, it was finally time to say goodbye to the last piece of his childhood he was hanging on to.

“Hey, quit over thinking it.” Draco admonished softly from just past the spraying water. “We both know by now that whatever needs to happen will happen. If you all manage to keep your friendship intact then we will have them over for dinner once a month and make things work, if you don’t then I’ll introduce you to Pansy so you have another witch to harp on you and keep the balance.”

Harry snorted at the last bit as he lathered shampoo into his hair, “I think if things don’t work out I’ll take a break from overbearing witches for a while. Thanks for the offer though,” he smirked as he tipped his head back to rinse the shampoo from his hair. Once he was soap free Harry reached behind him to turn off the water then summoned his towel and started to dry off.

Glancing at his watch Draco noticed the time and leaned forward to give Harry a quick kiss, “I’ve got to run or I’m going to be late, but I’ll see you at the shop in about three hours to meet with Remus and Sirius for Remus’ tattoo?”

“Perfect,” Harry agreed after he returned the kiss. “I love you, Dray.”

“I love you too Harry, see you soon.” Draco replied before hurrying out of the bathroom.

Forty-five minutes later Harry was settled on his ottoman putting the final touches on the tattoo he had designed for Remus. While his honorary godfather had only requested three lilies Harry wanted to do something more unique to honor his parents so Harry had hidden stag prints in each petal. He was so wrapped up in getting everything just right he missed the sound of the floo flaring to life and spitting Hermione out. He only looked up when he heard her tentative voice call out his name from the front of the shop. “Back here Hermione!” He responded, tucking his sketch book aside and standing up to greet his friend.

The curtain separating the foyer parted to let Hermione into the shop which she immediately stopped to examine with a critical eye. “Well Harry, I must admit you’ve done quite well for yourself while you’ve been hiding from us.” She declared with a huff that she tried to mask behind a sugary tone.

“And that is why I didn’t tell you I was back,” Harry snipped back. “You always seem to disapprove of anything that makes me happy.”

Hermione seemed taken aback at Harry’s anger. “Now Harry, that isn’t necessarily true-” Hermione began but she was immediately cut off by Harry.

“No, this time I want to speak first. You want to know why I didn’t tell you I was back and I will tell you the full story, but only if you let me explain myself.” Harry said, his even tone leaving no room for Hermione to argue with him. “If you are willing to let me talk come have a seat.”

Caught off guard, all Hermione could do was nod silently as she moved to take the seat Harry gestured to and make herself comfortable.

Once Hermione was seated Harry started speaking again. “Look, you’ve never exactly been on my side, even as far back as third year when I got my broom from Sirius, you didn’t trust me and went behind my back to get a teacher on your side. You always think you know best no matter the situation and you don’t want to listen until you find someone who agrees with you.”

“Now Harry,” Hermione started, forgetting her earlier promise to keep her peace until Harry was done speaking, “I’ve only ever done what’s best for you! We were just kids, you can’t hold that against me!”

“See, this is what I mean!” Harry exclaimed. “You won’t even let me finish explaining myself before interjecting your point of view.”

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest with a huff and glared at Harry but remained silent.

Before he started speaking again Harry took a deep breath to recenter himself; Hermione had always been a master at getting under his skin and getting him off track. “Look, I understand you are hurt that I didn’t tell you I was back in the UK, but how would you have reacted if I told you I was back but I wasn’t going to go back to being an auror with Ron? You would have lost your cool in a spectacular fashion and not let up until I gave in and went back down the path you wanted me on. Fuck Hermione, even after you found out I was back and doing what I wanted to do you tried to go behind my back to my godfather and his husband to get them to push me towards that path. But that path that you and Molly laid out for me while we were in school isn’t the path I want for myself. I’m not going to marry Ginny and have a bushel of kids and live next door to you and Ron and work with Ron as an auror. That’s just not in the cards for me, and I don’t think it ever could have been. I’m gay and I don’t want to be a saviour anymore. I spent the first two decades of my life being forced to be a hero and I’m done with that, I have been since before I left the UK five years ago. Now I just want to run my little shop where the Prophet can’t find me and get to be a normal person for once. So you and Ron have a choice; you can support me and my choice to date Draco and be a tattoo artist or you can choose to no longer be my friend and not support the fact that I’m a gay tattoo artist who is serious about someone we hated in school that has grown into an amazing man.” Feeling slightly short of breath after his tirade, Harry stopped speaking and looked at Hermione expectantly, waiting for her rebuttal.

“Now really Harry, I think you’re overreacting just a bit.” Hermione started, her tone already slipping into the same one she used to use when she lectured Harry and Ron about studying. “And besides, no one would have really been against you not marrying Ginny if your heart wasn’t in it.”

Harry blinked at Hermione trying to brush aside his concerns so cavalierly. “There you go ignoring the entire point of what I’m saying and picking one point you can fight against.”

“Well what else am I supposed to do?!” Hermione exclaimed, her voice raising slightly.

Throwing his hands up Harry huffed in exasperation, “You’re supposed to have my back!

“So I’m supposed to sit back and watch when you take a leave from training for a job you had wanted since fifth year and take off for the states? And then I’m not allowed to react when I find out you’ve come back and gone into hiding because you’re dating a death eater?”

Harry’s head snapped up at the last words Hermione spoke, his features dark and menacing “Get. Out. Now.”

“See! He’s corrupting your mind!” Hermione shrieked, already on her feet.

“Just leave Hermione. It’s obvious you won’t listen to reason and I refuse to have someone in my shop who slanders my boyfriend like that.” Harry growled, hand twitching like he wanted to reach for his wand and expel her forcefully from the shop if she didn’t go willingly.

Hermione looked at him with a touch of sadness in her eyes but she seemed to realize she had pushed too far this time and without another word she stood and made her way out of the shop in a huff.

As he heard the floo flare to life and whisk Hermione away Harry collapsed tiredly on the sofa. He really had wanted to save his friendship with Hermione, but he wouldn’t stand there and let her talk negatively about someone he had come to love so intensely in such a short time.

“Harry? Can I come back there?” Draco’s voice echoed from the front of the shop.

“Of course Dray!” Harry replied, trying not to sound as startled as he felt. “How long have you been out there? I didn’t hear the floo let you through and I didn’t think it was that late yet.”

Draco pushed through the curtains holding a cup of coffee in each hand, one of which he set down in front of Harry before taking a seat next to him on the sofa. “Well I got Mr. Boffin settled and on a treatment plan that should get everything cleared up so I was able to leave St. Mungos a bit early and I decided to grab us both a coffee and come see how things were going. When I stepped through the floo I heard you yelling rather spectacularly so I decided to make myself comfortable at the desk out there and double check your books were in order while I waited for things to die down.”

“So you heard what Hermione called you then?” Harry asked dejectedly, fearing that he had just lost his boyfriend and childhood friend in the space of an hour.

Reaching over, Draco slung an arm over Harry’s shoulders and tugged the smaller man against his chest. “I did, and I heard you jump to my defense and refuse to let her talk about me that way. Thank you, mon couer.”

Harry sighed in relief and snuggled into Draco’s chest. “Of course I wouldn’t let her talk about you like that. You are so much more than your past and if she can’t see that, if anyone can’t see past that, then I don’t need them in my life.”

"I knew you would defend me but that doesn't mean I expected you to pick me over your friend since childhood. You don't know how much that means to me Harry." Draco murmured, pressing a kiss into Harry's hair.

The pair were still standing together finding their balance after Hermione's words when they heard the floo flare to life signaling the arrival of Remus and Sirius. Feeling more secure in their relationship after the last week of challenges, the pair didn't jump apart like they would have previously, instead they shared a soft kiss before they stepped apart and turned to greet the other pair.

"Glad to see Hermione didn't cause any issues." Sirius smirked as he pushed through the curtain and saw the pair moving apart.

Harry shook his head with a wry laugh. "Believe me, she tried, straight up said I was ruining my life to date a death eater. She all but implied that Draco used magic to persuade me to go into hiding."

"That's not all that surprising," Remus said as he entered the room on Sirius's heels balancing a casserole dish, a bowl of something, and a foil-wrapped package that appeared to be a loaf of bread. "I'm guessing she also left in a huff?"

Stepping around Harry, Draco reached out and snagged the bowl and package before they could topple to the ground. "She was in such a snit that she didn't even notice me at the desk when she stormed out. The last time I saw her that mad was in third year and I ended up getting punched in face."

Harry quickly turned to clear off the table that had become their defacto lunch spot so Draco wouldn't see the smirk flicker across his face at that memory. Hermione's temper had only worsened with age but that was still one of her most spectacular displays of rage even over a decade later.

"Quit laughing at me, Harry." Draco deadpanned, setting the items he was holding on the table before nudging Harry playfully.

Biting back a laugh, Remus set the casserole tray down next to the other items. "You know the more I see you two interact the more you remind me of James and Lily when they were your age. A lot of people from our years at Hogwarts thought they hated each other even after they started dating because they constantly bickered and teased each other but anyone in our inner circle knew there wasn't another pair from our time at Hogwarts that loved each other as much as those two did."

"Remus is right, you two are a basically a copy of those two." Sirius smirked as he casually flopped on the sofa and made himself comfortable with his feet across the sofa. "Let's eat then you can steal Remus away to work on his tattoo while me and Draco finish the paperwork for the charity."

"I made the baked macaroni with bacon that your mom used to always make for your dad." Remus explained as he shoved Sirius' feet to the ground and took a seat on the other side of the sofa. “And Sirius made a loaf of fresh garlic bread and a chopped salad.”

Lowering himself into the chair across from them Draco summoned plates and flatware from Harry's flat upstairs and passed them to Remus who filled each plate with a hearty serving of mac and cheese before he passed each member of the group a plate. Once everyone had taken a plate and a seat conversation turned to what Harry planned to do about Hermione.

“Honestly, I’m going to let her rant and rage to whoever she wants.” Harry shrugged when Sirius questioned his plans. “I’m done defending my actions to everyone around me, I’m an adult now and if they don’t trust me to make my own choices then I don’t need them in my life.”

Draco eyed Harry curiously, surprised at the steady surety that Harry was exuding at the idea of cutting one of his oldest friends out of his life. “I didn’t want to make you choose me over them. That was never my intention when we started this.” He reiterated, momentarily forgetting that Sirius and Remus were watching their exchange. “I just knew I finally had a chance to say what I had felt for years and I wasn’t going to let it pass me by.”

“I know that Dray, and you didn’t make me choose. If there was truly a choice to be made I wouldn’t have kept me coming back to the UK a secret.” Harry replied, setting his lunch aside so he could take Draco’s hands. “Tell me, if Hermione was truly my friend would she have come in here like she did and tried to tell me I couldn’t be in love with someone because of who they had been a decade ago?”

“Harry’s right,” Remus interjected quietly. “Hermione is so wrapped up in presenting the perfect image that she tries to control every detail. But you can’t do that to your friends. It took us quite a while to realize that is part of why Peter wasn’t as tight with the rest of us; he tried to do the same thing because there was so much wrong in his life and our world that he wanted to keep what he could perfect.”

Sirius nodded sadly, the pain of the memories Remus dredged up flashing behind his eyes. “When we were going to a mind healer to dig through everything that had happened to us after the war she made us realize that Peter doing that had put a wedge between him and the rest of us and it was that wedge that drove him to do what he did. It wasn’t something we could have avoided and it wasn’t our fault so we needed to stop blaming ourselves.”

Nodding solemnly Draco took in what the older men were saying and tried to let go of the guilt that was creeping into his stomach. All three of them were right; if Harry wanted to choose him over someone who was quickly becoming a toxic presence in his life then he shouldn’t feel guilty about it.

“I love you Dray, don’t blame yourself for this okay?”

Draco smiled softly and squeezed Harry’s hands in response to his reassurance. “Love you too Harry, I’ll try and stop blaming myself.”

With that settled the foursome tucked into their lunch with a renewed appetite and an easier silence than they had started the meal with. Twenty minutes later the plates were cleared and Harry was fishing his sketchbook out of where he had put it when Hermione showed up.

“So I know you said you wanted three lilies on the inside of your arm for my mum and I mostly stuck to that but I hid stag hoofprints in the petals.” Harry explained as he passed the sketch book over to Remus for him to look over and approve of the design.

Remus took the book eagerly, excited to see what his honorary godson had drawn for him. All the other work of Harry’s he had seen had been amazing and he was looking forward to seeing what Harry had come up with for him.

“If there’s anything you don’t like I will happily change it for you.” Harry offered after a few moments of Remus staring silently at the page.

All Remus could do was shake his head as he fought back the emotions that were trying to rise up. Taking a shaky breath he passed the book to Sirius so his husband could see before smiling at Harry. “I love it, it’s absolutely perfect. Of course I’m not surprised at the fact considering how amazing Sirius’ looked.”

Harry rolled his eyes and smiled fondly at his honorary godfather. “I’m glad you like it, I’m glad both of you like your tattoos. You two trusting me to design and draw them for you meant a lot to me.”

“There is no one else we would want to do our memorial tattoos for your parents, Harry.” Sirius said softly as he passed the sketchbook back to Harry. “Your parents would be so proud of who you have become and the strength you’ve shown.”

“Thanks Sirius, hearing you say that means a lot to me.”

At some point in the conversation Draco had slipped away quietly and now he rejoined the group with a steaming kettle of tea and mugs for everyone. “Harry really has becoming an amazing adult despite starting out at Hogwarts as an annoying prat.” He teased lightly as he offered mugs around to everyone.

Sirius took the mug with a bemused smirk, silently marveling at how like James and Lily the young couple in front of him were.

“Would you say he was a bit of a toe-rag when you first met him?” Remus asked with a knowing smirk at Sirius, causing the other man to snort into his tea.

Harry and Draco shared a confused glance before shrugging.

“That’s that your mum used to call your dad at Hogwarts,” Remus explained with a chuckle, “still don’t know what it actually means or if she made it up to confuse us.”

Upon hearing Remus’ explanation both boys snickered. From all they had heard about Harry’s mum that sounded like something she would do.

Once everyone calmed down again Harry stood up and stretched before smiling at Remus. “Well now that we have eaten and had a good laugh what say we leave these two to discuss whatever minutiae they need to for the charity and we can go get started on your tattoo. Now I know you said you wanted three on your forearm but I was thinking that it would look better if we spread it out from shoulder to wrist and did at least four tied together with vines instead of just three.”

Remus nodded and rose to his feet before tugging his shit over his head and dropping it in Sirius’ lap. “I trust you to do what looks best Harry, though I hope you don’t mind working around a bit of scar tissue.”

“I have some special ink that’s been enchanted to help heal deep scars, they have been looking to test it on scars from dark magic. If you’re alright with it I can use that and track your progress with it?” Harry offered tentatively, not sure how Remus would react to the idea of Harry being so involved with his scars over time.

Unsure how to answer Remus looked at Sirius with a million thoughts dancing behind his eyes. Could he bare his scars to Harry repeatedly for weeks or even months? Could he bear the pain if it didn’t work? Could he be the subject of yet another study on werewolves?

“I say you should go for it, love, it couldn’t hurt and it may actually end up helping others down the road.” Sirius said quietly as he folded Remus’ shirt and laid it over the back of the sofa.

With Sirius’ reassurance bolstering his resolve Remus turned back to Harry and nodded his agreement. If this helped even one person it would be worth it, and if it worked it would help him so that would mean it was worth it.

“Right then, go on and take a seat and prop your arm up while I get washed up and get the stencil ready.” Harry directed, flicking his wand at the tattoo chair to make it arrange itself how it needed to be so Harry could comfortably work on Remus’ arm.

Remus nodded, and with one more quick kiss to Sirius’ head he wandered over to the chair to get comfortable while Harry got everything else ready. Ten minutes later the stencil was placed and approved and Harry had settled in to work on setting the outline while he and Remus talked quietly about the fact that Minerva had offered Remus and Sirius both positions at Hogwarts every year for the last five years and it was almost time for her annual letter because term was about to break for the summer.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the shop, Draco and Sirius were arguing over how best lay out the house that Draco would be building as the home base of their sanctuary.

“Don’t you think a wall around the entire property makes it seem a bit like one of those muggle institutions?” Sirius asked warily, wanting to make sure the people they helped knew beyond a shadow of a doubt they could come and go when they needed.

Draco leaned back to think about it, not wanting to just brush off the other man’s concerns without actually listening to him. “No, while the muggle homes for insane people do have those walls so do lots of other private properties. I don’t think it would make Regulus’ house seem like a prison at all, if anything it would probably make them feel safe.”

From across the shop Remus interjected, giving away that he and Harry had been listening all along. “I agree with Draco, wolves like having dens and werewolves aren’t all that different from their normal counterparts in that regard.”

“Alright then, a wall it is. Lets just make it look nicer than plain concrete, alright?” Sirius bargained.

Draco nodded and added a scribbled note onto the paper he was going to give to the contractor they were going to hire for the project. With that issue settled the pair went back to reading over the plans Draco had drawn up and making sure everything was air-tight legally so they could present their plans to the Wizenmagnot the following week for final approval.

Four hours later Harry turned off his machine and leaned back to inspect his work. Deciding he was pleased with it he wiped down Remus’ arm before prodding him awake.

“We’re done? That was fast,” Remus mumbled sleepily.

Harry chuckled as he pulled off his gloves and chucked them in the bin. “Well it was four hours but you slept through most of it.”

Grinning sheepishly Remus pushed up out of the chair and rolled his shoulders with a small wince before walking over to the mirror to inspect his new ink. He couldn’t hold back the small gasp that slipped past his lips when he saw the tattoo that looked like it was swaying gently in the breeze. Cautiously he raised a hand to trace one of the lilies with a finger and grinned when the flower drew closed at his touch.

“Wow Harry, that’s brilliant!” Sirius breathed as he watched that tattoo respond to Remus’ touch. "The charm work you put into that is absolutely brilliant, Professor Flitwick would be proud."

Unsure how to respond to so much praise Harry shrugged and ruffled his hair. "Thank's Sirius, maybe someday I'll get to show him what I've started doing with the foundation he gave me."

Draco chuckled to himself as he watched Harry fidget under the praise, he really couldn't have been more wrong about Harry's love for the spotlight. "Okay enough making my boyfriend flustered, does anyone want to go out to dinner to celebrate finalizing the paperwork for Regulus' House?"

"I'm down, how about that Italian place just down the street that we love?" Harry said, shooting Draco a thankful grin for pulling the attention off of him. "Is Italian okay with you guys?"

Before he could answer Sirius' stomach growled.

"Yes Italian is good for us judging by that noise." Remus chuckled. "If it's a muggle place though what do I do about the moving tattoo?"

"Just a simple stasis charm, it will keep the tattoo still for as long as you want."

Nodding his understanding, Remus fished out his wand and flicked the charm Harry told him to use, marveling again at theintricate the detail Harry had woven into his work. Once his tattoo was taken care of he summoned his shirt from the back of the couch and tugged it on. "Alright I'm ready, lets go get dinner and celebrate a brilliant month for our family."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ My tumblr ](http://irishwolf-and-slytherinstar.tumblr.com/)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fallout from Hermione deciding she is not okay with Harry's life choices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *** THIS IS MY SECOND CHAPTER POSTED WITHIN THE LAST 24 HOURS*** if you didn't read chapter 7 go back a chapter first!!!
> 
> As promised here is chapter 8!!! I've got a special surprise for CH 9 in the works and you should see more soon!!!

When she stepped into the floo at Harry’s shop Hermione elected to go to the Burrow to fill Molly in on what she had learned over the past week and to get the matriarch’s opinion on the matter.

“Mum! Where are you?” Hermione called as she stepped out of the floo and dusted herself off.

“In the garden deary! Put on the kettle and I’ll come right in.”

Nodding despite the fact that Molly couldn’t see her, Hermione turned to do as she was instructed, mentally reviewing the talking points she wanted to go over with her mother-in-law.

Just as the kettle started whistling Molly entered the kitchen with an apron full of eggs held in front of her. As Hermione prepared a mug of tea just the way Molly liked it, Molly carefully spilled the eggs onto the kitchen table before turning to wash her hands at the sink. Once she was cleaned up from taking care of the chickens she took a seat across from Hermione and accepted the mug with a thanks, taking a sip as she waited for the young woman to speak.

“So I figured you would be delighted to know that Harry is back in England.” Hermione started, never one to beat around the bush this conversation was no exception.

Molly blinked in surprise, the fact that Harry wasn’t here telling that he was back himself meant there was much more to the story. “Well, that’s wonderful news! When is he coming by to tell me this himself?”

“Well seeing as he’s been back for at least a year and a half and has yet to make his presence known I doubt it will be any time soon.” Hermione huffed, her annoyance evident. “The only reason I found out was because I floo’d over to Draco Malfoy’s flat to summon him to St. Mungos for a case and found Harry and Draco tangled up together on the couch.”

Unable to hide her surprise Molly’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “I must have misheard you my dear, did you say you saw Harry and Draco being intimate on Draco’s couch?”

Hermione nodded sharply, disapproval evident on her face.

“Oh, my heavens.” Molly murmured, looking faint as she took another sip of tea.

“It gets worse. Not only is Harry tattooed like some hooligan he owns a tattoo parlor now!”

At Hermione’s words, Molly’s half empty teacup clattered to the table, splashing tea across the table top. “Did Fred and George put you up to this? Because that is just absurd!”  
  
Shaking her head Hermione took a sip of her now tepid tea and waited for Molly to collect herself. If she hadn't seen this herself she was sure she would have much the same reaction that Molly was having currently.

Finally Molly shook her head and righted her teacup. "This just won’t do. We need to do something to get him back on the right track."

"I feel the same but I don't know what we could do. He's kept himself very well hidden from the public eye and I don't even know if anyone would believe this if they didn't see it for themselves. I mean let's face it, Harry being involved with a Death Eater is pretty absurd."

Molly thought for a few moments before nodding resolutely. "So we don't tell people, we let them see for themselves. I'm sure someone at the Prophet would love a tip about Draco's whereabouts and if they just so happened to find Harry then that's even better."

"Mum, that's devious, are you sure you weren't a Slytherin?" Hermione teased, already fishing a piece of parchment and a quill out of her bag to draft the note to the Prophet.

~~~~~~

Two days later on a bright Wednesday afternoon, Harry decided to take a chance on him not being recognized and arranged to meet Draco outside of St. Mungo's to take him to lunch in muggle London. Unfortunately that was also the day a photographer from the Prophet decided to set up outside St. Mungos to see if the rumors were true about a certain ex-Death Eater now working at the establishment.

Unaware he was being photographed from the moment he exited the building, Draco stepped outside and looked around to find Harry waiting for him. "Hello mon coeur, how was your morning?"

"Good, I finished a consultation for a new client who is excited about his first tattoo." Harry said, wrapping an arm around Draco's waist and steering him in the direction of the restaurant they had picked out.

As they started to walked away Draco leaned down and kissed Harry quickly. "What are you doing for them?"

Smiling almost wickedly to himself the photographer decided he had what he needed and silently apparated away before he heard the answer to that question. He needed to get the pictures he had taken to a writer so they could hopefully make the morning edition of the Daily Prophet.

The next morning Harry and Draco were woken up by the floo in the living room flaring to life and Pansy shrieking Draco's name at just past seven in the morning.

"Ugh gimme a second Pans, I'm just waking up." Draco shouted as he rolled out of bed and placed a finger on his lips telling Harry to stay quiet until he sussed out what was going on. Yanking on a pair of joggers he walked out of the room tugging a tee-shirt over his head as he went. "Alright, I'm up at far too early an hour for a day when I don't have to work, care to explain what couldn't wait until normal people hours?"

Pansy rolled her eyes and shoved a copy of the morning edition of the Daily Prophet into his chest. "Bring Potter out here, now. I've already alerted Blaise that we are coming in so the three of us can get ahead of the shit show that's about to start."

Curiously Draco caught the paper she shoved at him and peered at the front page. Taking nearly three-quarters of the page was a massive image of him and Harry from the day before when they met outside St. Mungo’s for lunch with the headline _Boy Who Lived To Be Used For Fame_."Bloody hell. Harry! Get out here **NOW**!"

"Dray? I thought you were gonna deal with whatever Pansy wanted?" Harry asked as he opened the door, obviously having gotten up and gotten properly dressed as soon as Draco had left their room instead of just tugging on whatever came to hand.

"Good morning Potter, I don't know if Draco has told you but I now run a PR firm to help people keep in front of whatever media disasters they create. Well, right now you and Draco _really_ need my help." Pansy said by way of greeting, tapping her toe with an impatient air.

Silently Draco passed the paper to Harry as he mulled over how he could have let his guard down so much that he didn't notice someone stalking them yesterday.

Harry barely glanced at the paper before his face turned paler than it already was. "You can fix this Pansy?"

"I don't know if fix is the right word but I can spin it so it is not a complete disaster. But only if we get moving now." She replied with a pointed glance at Draco who would need to get dressed in a hurry if they were going to leave his flat any time soon.

Draco got the hint and turned on his heel to go find something more befitting of a Malfoy heir, because he knew Pansy and he knew that there were going to be lots of photos before today was over.

Not fifteen minutes later the trio was greeted by Blaise in the entry of Pansy’s surprisingly modern firm. He gave Pansy a quick kiss before turning to Draco and Harry and eyeing them critically. "Well, it's better than I expected them to look for how early you woke them up. Potter will need a better shirt, probably a button-down with the sleeves rolled up to show his ink but the grey Draco is wearing is perfect."

"Were you able to get hold of Lee to take the photos we need? And what about Daphne and Luna for the article?" Pansy asked, already mentally planning what they would need to do today. There were interviews with both boys, of course, a photo shoot was another given, and she would need to issue a statement that any questions would have to go through her team from here on out.

"I'm already here, he didn't even have to floo me." A voice called from a room down the hall, Lee Jordan appearing a few minutes later. "As soon as I saw the morning paper and the rubbish they made up to go along with the photo they obviously didn't have permission to take, I floo'd over here to see if you needed my services and found Blaise here gathering everyone to issue marching orders."

Blaise smiled thankfully at the man walking down the hallway to them. "Along with Lee jumping to our rescue here, Luna and Daphne are on their way and should be here shortly once they find a sitter for baby Mirabella.

Nodding Pansy turned and made her way down the hall beckoning for Harry and Draco to follow her.

"Don't worry, it seems like a lot but that's just because Pansy is the best at what she does." Draco reassured as he wrapped an arm around Harry and guided him towards what he knew to be Pansy's emergency closet. "I promise by the time she's done today the whole wizarding world will be on our side."

Harry leaned into Draco to take the reassurance he offered. "I trust you, and her and Blaise if I'm honest. It's just a lot of Slytherins, Merlin, it's a lot of people who had no clue I was back and now everything is out in the open and I feel like I've lost control after I fought so long to get it."

Pausing in the hall before they actually entered the room. "Look, I understand how it feels right now Harry, but I promise it won't feel like this forever. Give it a day or two and we will be back to our new normal alright?"

"Thanks, Dray." Harry murmured, wrapping his arms around Draco and hugging him tightly. After a couple of moments, Harry took a step back and took a deep breath. "Alright, let's go see what's first on Pansy's agenda for us today."

Draco smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of Harry's head before reaching over and pushing the door open and gesturing for Harry to lead the way inside.

"Ah, there you two are! I just pulled out a couple options, let's see what looks best on you Potter." Pansy said brusquely as she passed two green shirts to Harry.

Harry took the offered shirts with a wry smirk, her bossy attitude familiar yet different. "Please, if I'm with your best friend I think it's only fair if you call me Harry."

Smirking as if Harry had passed some unspoken test, Pansy pointed to a curtained off corner of the room. "Alright Harry, well you can change right where you stand or you can go behind the curtains in the corner."

Harry looked at Draco to make sure he didn't care when Draco shrugged his indifference Harry smirked and tugged his shirt over his head before passing it to Draco to hold along with the lighter of the two shirts. "So are you trying to make me look more Slytherin so people don't question me being with Draco?" Harry joked lightly as he pulled on the emerald green shirt Pansy had picked out for him.

"Actually that wasn't the plan." Pansy chuckled, eyeing Harry purely to decide if he even needed to try on the other shirt and not at all admiring the fact that he was still toned and obviously still flew frequently. "I was trying to play up your eyes and I think I did a fairly good job of it. What do you think, Draco?"

Draco nodded his agreement, tossing the shirts in his hand on a chair behind him so he could tuck the shirt in properly and roll up the sleeves. "There, now it's perfect. Look how bright his lilies look against that shirt Pans."

Taking a step back Pansy examined the whole picture intensely before nodding her approval. "Yes, this will do quite nicely. Draco, you remember where the studio room is, if you head in there Lee should be waiting for you and I'll send Luna and Daph in when they get here."

Harry rolled his eyes at the way the pair had scrutinized him, even if he was grateful that they were doing everything they could to make him not look like a complete putz in the press release that was likely going to be going out with the evening prophet. "Thank you, Pansy, before today I'm well aware that you probably hated me, but you've put that aside if not for my sake then for Draco's and that means a lot to me."

"Thank me with dinner and a bottle of wine when we get this sorted out." Pansy laughed before shooing them out of the room so she could move on to the next item on her to do list for the day.

"Pans, if you keep this from being a complete nightmare I'll pay for you and Blaise to spend a weekend in Paris." Draco called over his shoulder before taking Harry's hand and leading him into the hall to go find Lee.

As they pushed open the door Draco knew led to the studio they were greeted by a curse and a clatter. "Lee, mate, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good!" Lee replied, his voice sounds somewhat muffled as if he was under something. "I just knocked a backdrop over onto myself, nothing to worry about I promise."

Harry laughed and took a seat on one of the chaise lounges against the wall. "Some things never change do they, Lee?"

Curiously Draco turned from looking to see where Lee was to looking at Harry. "Never change?"

"Lee was the reigning klutz of Gryffindor for many years." Harry explained with a laugh, "he even beat out Neville for how clumsy he could be most days. That's why he was never on the quidditch team."

Draco fought back a laugh. After having come to know Lee in the last few years he worked with Pansy, he could believe that the Gryffindor was even clumsier than Neville, which was saying something because Neville was remarkably accident prone on a good day.

"Alright, now that I've gotten that sorted I'm ready to get you two in position." Lee called out, appearing from behind a partition in the back of the studio as he dusted himself off. "I pulled out two backdrops because I wasn't sure what look Pansy was going for. Let's get you guys against the Diagon Alley drop first then we will use the fireplace one and get the photos over to Pans to decide which she wants." He rambled as he walked over and grabbed Harry's arm to pull him into position. "Though with that shirt I think she's going to want the Diagon Alley ones, with all the grey in that it will really pop."

Smirking back at Draco, Harry let himself be tugged into position and posed by a very excitable Lee who was still muttering to himself about lighting and coloring. Even after being in the spotlight for so much of his life this was still a very new experience.

Draco waited until Lee had stepped back and nodded that he was pleased with where Harry was positioned before walking over and taking his spot next to him. "So what are you going for Lee? More candid or a more posed shot?"

"Candid with the alley shots and then we will do posed for the fireplace ones." Lee nodded decisively after thinking for a moment. "I think that will work best, then Pans can mix and match and make more of a story out of it."

While Harry was processing this and trying to make sense of it all the door opened and Luna and Daphne entered the room.

"Hello Harry, I knew I'd be seeing you again soon." Luna called out in her normal dreamy tone as she meandered over to a table behind Lee's camera and started pulling parchment and quills out of her bag for her and Daphne.

"Hope you don't mind that Pansy told us to come in and start our interviews while you're getting your photos taken." Daphne explained as she followed Luna over to the table. "We are going to do your joint interview first then after the photos are done we will separate you two and do some more personal questions after."

Feeling suddenly overwhelmed Harry just nodded, silently taking Draco's hand and squeezing it for reassurance. This whole experience was reminding him why he had left the UK in the first place.

Draco felt the nerves starting to radiate off of Harry and, heedless of the other people in the room, pulled the smaller man in for a tight hug. For a few moments he forgot they had an audience and just focused on reassuring his boyfriend and reminding him that no matter how overwhelmed Harry started to feel he would always be here for him to ground him and make sure he felt safe.

Silently Lee picked up his camera and snapped a couple shots of the raw moment in front of him. He had worked in the business long enough to know when he had a photo that was golden and this was definitely one of those moments. The emotion and love he felt from the pair in front of him would shine through beautifully in a photograph taking up the front page of the Prophet.

"True love after everything they have endured." Luna mumbled, breaking the spell on the room as she scratched notes on the parchment in front of her, already working on the intro to her and Daphne's article and joint interview with the pair.

Feeling more grounded Harry pulled back and kissed Draco softly, murmuring his thanks before fully separating from his partner. "Alright, now that a freakout has been avoided, where would you like to start?"

"Well, I think the most important thing to get out of the way first is finding out how much you want to share with the world?" Daphne asked, plopping herself on the floor out of the line of Lee's camera but still close enough she could clearly see the reactions to her questions and make note of them to add an extra human element to the story.

Draco shrugged, his life was already an open book to this particular group of the press for the most part so it was up to Harry to decide what he wanted to share.

Harry paused and consider everything he could share before he nodded. "I don't mind people knowing I own a tattoo shop, but I want to keep the name of the shop out of the paper if at all possible. Though if you guys think it would be better to release it in a controlled environment then I'll trust your judgment on that."

"No, we don't need that information getting out and putting your privacy even more at risk." Luna replied, brushing off his offer to completely out his last sanctuary from the press. "Though I do like the idea of laying out that you've moved on from being a hero and have built a life for yourself.”

"Okay, then if we are going that route then Harry switch places with Draco so your right arm is to the camera." Lee directed as he reached for the lighting to make sure it would show off Harry's lilies to their best advantage, thinking that the girls could make a better story out of those than the willow vines on his other arm.

Daphne watched them from her spot on the floor, making notes about how the pair interacted and how they flowed together. "Are the lilies for your mum Lily?"

Still trying to figure out how Lee wanted him positioned Harry just nodded, as he took a step closer so he was more centered in the light and not overshadowed by Draco. "I also have paw-prints on my back for my godfather and his husband and hoof-prints for my dad." Harry added absently, not worrying about outing anyone as the Ministry had pardoned Sirius for being an unregistered animagus just after the war had ended.

"That's brilliant, your connection to your family is a great bit to add to the story." Daphne replied quickly scribbling that information down.

"What about you Draco?" Luna piped up from her perch on the table. "Do you have any tattoos? Maybe even one done by Harry?"

Draco smirked just in time for Lee to snap a photo. "Actually yes. That's how I found out Harry was back in the UK."

Luna was nodding as Draco spoke, making notes quickly for how she wanted to angle the story.

"I won a five-hour session at Harry's studio, but I didn't know at the time that it was his, just that it was one of the most sought after studios in the UK for wizarding tattoos. When I got there he made me sign a non-disclosure contract before he even came out of the back of the shop."

Snorting his amusement, Lee flicked snapped a few more shots of the pair in front of him, silently loving that they had forgotten he was there. He was sure his photos from this shoot would be some of the best ones he had ever taken and he couldn't wait to see the spread Pansy made of it.

Daphne bit back an ‘aww’ at the explanation of how the pair remet each other after so long apart. With her and Luna taking the helm, this story would have the entire wizarding world in love with the pair in a matter of hours. "So what do you have, Draco? Is it something we could get pictures of to add to the spread maybe? Along with more close-ups of some of Harry's tattoos?"

"I've got a custom phoenix Harry designed himself. It's not quite done, our last session is Friday but I don't mind showing it off while it's in progress." Draco agreed readily, happy for an excuse to show how amazing his partner was.

Snorting, Harry poked Draco's ribs making him yelp slightly which covered up the sound of another shutter click. "What Draco isn't mentioning is the tattoo is bloody massive. Its wings are spread going from shoulder to shoulder and the body takes up most of his back from neck to the top of his arse."

"I'm okay with taking photos of Draco shirtless as long as he's comfortable with the wizarding world seeing them." Lee piped up as he set down his camera and walked over to change out the backgrounds and drag a leather chair into the frame. "Actually if you're okay with it I would love to come to the shop and get a few shots of you working on Draco's tattoo for a follow-up piece. I specifically want to show who you are now Harry and try and pull you away from the saviour image people hold onto so dearly."

Luna was scribbling away furiously in the back of the room, intently focused on an idea she had for the follow-up story. "I want to run the follow up in the Quibbler so we can be a little more risque about it. I think we should save all photos of Draco's tattoo until then.

"I love that idea Luna, it would be a perfect way to cut out any other articles off before they can start." Pansy agreed as she stepped into the room to watch her team work. "Blaise just got an owl back from the editor of the Prophet and if we can get the story to them by 2 we will get the front page for the evening paper."

Daphne nodded and held up the first couple rolls of parchment she had written for Luna to take to edit into a cohesive article with her own notes. "I think we've got a solid start on the questions for them together, I just want a few minutes with each of them to ask a few questions to flush out the article, but I don't need a lot more since we are going to do a more in-depth article this weekend."

Pointing to the laptop where the photos he had taken already were up on the screen for Pansy to inspect. "You can pick a couple shots from there, I'm going to try and get a good lead image for the front page first." Lee said before he picked up the camera again and motioned for Draco to take a seat in the chair with Harry standing behind him. Once the pair was seated to his liking, Lee started snapping photos again, yelling out for them to make slight adjustments to their position every few frames.

"Oh Lee, these are gorgeous!" Pansy said as she started scrolling through the images. "I love this one of them embracing, it's so tender. This needs to be the front page for this article. We can use the power couple ones you're taking now for the Quibbler Saturday."

"Wait, you got a picture of that?" Harry squeaked, surprised he had missed the sound of the shutter clicking.

Draco chuckled and looked up over his shoulder at the other man. "Don't be ashamed to show the world that you are in love with me, it's not a bad thing."

Shrugging Harry leaned down and kissed Draco's cheek. "I'm not ashamed of that at all."

"Okay so the embrace is the cover and then I think I want the ones marked as the main spread." Pansy decided after a few moments. "I'm going to send these over to Blaise to confirm the layout along with a few backups."

Draco smirked as he leaned his elbows on his knees. "Pansy are you sure this is your firm? Blaise seems to be doing the harder work."

"I think that's just proof that she is the boss, she doesn't do any of the actual work." Harry joined in on the teasing with a laugh as he leaned his folded arms against the back of the chair.

Seeing the scene in front of him, Lee quickly lifted his camera to his eye and snapped a couple quick shots before setting the camera down. "I just got our lead for the Saturday quibbler, take a look at the newest shots Pans." He interjected, cutting off the banter because of how excited he was.

Pansy quirked her eyebrow curiously before scrolling to the top where the newest pictures were. "Oh wow Lee, that's stunning." Pansy breathed as she opened the image Lee had directed her too. "This is power couple goals. Luna, can you make this your cover shot?" She asked, waving her hand for Luna to come look.

"I definitely can. And I love the idea of making it out that they are a power couple in the article." Luna mused, her thoughts already laying out the cover of the magazine. "Daph, what do you think of using Wizarding Britain's Newest Power Couple Stripped for the lead title?"

Nodding her agreement Daphne quickly scribbled that title down. "That is perfect, especially with the photos of their tattoos we want to get. Can you work with that Lee?"

Lee nodded eagerly, asking an openly gay man if he was okay with shooting two fit former quidditch stars half naked was about as pointless as asking what color a snitch was.

"Down boy!" Pansy laughed as she saw Lee's face light up at the idea. "They are both taken and you are too."

"Oh I know," Lee laughed, sticking his tongue out at her playfully. "But I can still admire two sexy men."

Harry bit back a laugh at Lee's antics. "Daphne did you want to go do your interview before Lee drowns us in drool?"

Not looking up from the notes she was writing Daphne nodded. "Meet me in sitting room B, I'll just finish this bit here and be right there."

"Draco why don't you go to room A, I've got a couple questions for you too." Luna instructed as she made the finishing touches on what she had compiled. “I will be there in just a few minutes as soon as I get this all fitted together.”

Taking Harry’s hand Draco nodded at the girls orders and tugged Harry out of the room. “How are you doing, love?” He asked once they were in the silence of the hall.

“Alright honestly. It was a bit much early on, but once I got used to being around everyone again it was nice. I kind of missed being with friends like that.” Harry admitted as he followed Draco further into the maze that was Pansy’s firm.

Draco nodded as he came to a stop between doors labeled A and B. “Well then, after we’ve dealt with this mess, why don’t we invite everyone over for dinner? Maybe a few of your friends too?”

Wheels already turning in his head processing who he would want to invite, Harry nodded. “I think I’d like that. We could do it at my flat so there is more room too, what with having the shop downstairs to hang out in and everything.”

“Perfect. We can hash everything out this weekend.” Draco agreed, giving Harry a quick kiss as he heard footsteps approaching. “And I’m taking you out to lunch somewhere muggle after we finish our interviews, you need a break.”

Harry smiled and mouthed thank you as Daphne rounded the corner and waved at him, urging him into room B so she could poke at his personal life a bit more.

After he watched his partner go, Draco turned and went into A to wait for Luna. Despite the insane way the morning had started this was turning out to be a very good day and it was leading to what sounded like a very positive future. Screw Paris for a weekend, he was sending Pansy and Blaise to Rome for a week to thank them both for averting the complete disaster this could have been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ My tumblr ](http://irishwolf-and-slytherinstar.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> [ My tumblr ](http://irishwolf-and-slytherinstar.tumblr.com/)


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